Evaluation of plasma histamine in patients with coronary artery disease

Plasma levels of histamine (HI) were determined by fluorescence photometry in 12 patients with old myocardial infarction, 10 patients with stable effort angina pectoris and 10 control subjects without coronary arterial lesion. Resting HI were 57.6 +/- 7.5 ng/ml for control subjects and 68.6 +/- 3.9 ng/ml for patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) (N.S.). HI were 62.6 +/- 4.7 ng/ml for patients with one vessel disease, 68.0 +/- 10.6 ng/ml for patients with two vessel disease and 79.1 +/- 4.9 ng/ml for patients with three vessel disease (one vessel disease: three vessel disease, p less than 0.05). HI for all subjects decreased from 65.6 +/- 3.5 ng/ml before treadmill exercise test to 63.4 +/- 3.8 ng/ml after exercise (N.S.), and the rate of change did not differ from control subjects to diseased patients. HI increased significantly from 63.5 +/- 3.7 ng/ml to 70.7 +/- 3.7 ng/ml after hyperventilation (p less than 0.05), but the rate of change did not differ from control to CAD patients. In the present study a tendency was observed that the severe the coronary arterial lesions, the higher were HI. In old myocardial infarction and stable effort angina pectoris, however, the changes in HI produced by exercise and hyperventilation do not seem to be deeply involved in the onset of acute myocardial ischemia.