Assessment of triglyceride/glucose index with respect to coronary slow flow

Coronary slow flow (CSF) is determined by delayed opacification of the epicardial coronary arteries without obstructive disease. The triglyceride glucose index (TGI) has been suggested as a useful marker of insulin resistance. Previous studies have shown that TGI is associated with cardiovascular disease, but no study has examined the relationship between TGI and CSF.

Therefore, the primary objective of the present study was to investigate the relationship between TGI and CSF.

This study retrospectively evaluated patients who were admitted to our clinic with complaints of chest pain and underwent coronary angiography between January and December 2018. A total of 1100 coronary angiography images were assessed, and 72 patients with CSF were detected. Coronary flow was quantified objectively using the TIMI (thrombolysis in myocardial infarction) frame count (TFC) method as described by Gibson et al. TGI was calculated as follows: ln [fasting triglycerides (mg/dL) × fasting glucose (mg/dL)/2].

The CSF group had significantly higher glucose levels (mg/dl) [ (114.92±30.92), (125.61±33.22), than the control and CSF groups, respectively, p=0.0001], TGI [ (9.02±0.56), (9.26±0.54), p=0.0001], and triglyceride levels (mg/dl) [ (170.67±110.81), (201.19±136.93), p=0.002]. There was no statistically significant correlation between TGI and left anterior descending artery TFC, circumflex artery TFC, right coronary artery TFC (r/p values; 0.24/0.06; 0.32/0.08; 0.18/0.36, respectively). TGI, HDL, HT, age, and sex were examined with a multiple logistic model, and TGI was found to be statistically significant for the risk of CSF (p=0.0001; O.R:7.459).

TGI was statistically significantly higher in the CSF group than the control group. According to the multivariate logistic regression analysis, only TGI was independently associated with the risk of CSF, but higher TGI did not predict more slow coronary flow. Prospective studies are needed to clarify the prognostic relationship of TGI and CSF in terms of future cardiovascular events (Tab. 2, Fig. 1, Ref. 19).