Inflammatory and Fibrosis Parameters Predicting CPET Performance in Males with Recent Elective PCI for Chronic...

Functional capacity (FC), ideally determined by a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET), is a valuable prognostic marker in chronic coronary syndrome (CCS). As CPET has limited availability, biomarkers of inflammation and/or fibrosis could help predict diminished FC. Our objective was to assess the value of galectin-3 (gal-3) and that of three inflammatory markers easily obtained from a complete blood count (NLR (neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio), PLR (platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio) and MLR (monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio) in predicting diminished FC in males with recent elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for CCS. Our prospective study enrolled 90 males who had undergone elective PCI in the previous 3 months (mean age 60.39 ± 10.39 years) referred to a cardiovascular rehabilitation (CR) clinic between February 2023 and December 2024. All subjects received clinical examination, a cardiopulmonary stress test, transthoracic echocardiography and bloodwork. Based on percentage of predicted oxygen uptake (%VO2max), patients were classified in two subgroups-impaired FC (≤70%, n = 50) and preserved FC (>70%, n = 40). NLR, PLR and gal-3 were elevated in patients with poor FC and were significant predictors of diminished FC in multivariate analysis. PLR, NLR and gal-3 could guide referrals for CR for high-risk males with recent elective PCI.