Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of patients included in the study stratified by the median values of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin and interleukin 6.
| Variables | All patients (n=1,796) | ≤Median hs-cTn (≤1.5 ng/l) (n=904) | >Median hs-cTn (>1.5 ng/l) (n=892) | p value | ≤Median IL-6 (≤1.8 ng/l) (n=954) | >Median IL-6 (>1.8 ng/l) (n=842) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age – mean ± SD | 60.2 ± 8.0 | 59.0 ± 7.3 | 61.4 ± 8.5 | <0.001 | 59.4 ± 7.9 | 61.1 ± 8.1 | <0.001 |
| Male sex – n (%) | 853 (47.5) | 356 (39.4) | 497 (55.7) | <0.001 | 504 (52.8) | 349 (41.5) | <0.001 |
| Cardiovascular risk factors | |||||||
| Hypertension – n (%) | 1,160 (64.6) | 543 (60.1) | 617 (69.2) | <0.001 | 566 (59.3) | 594 (70.6) | <0.001 |
| Diabetes mellitus – n (%) | 364 (20.3) | 172 (19.0) | 192 (21.5) | 0.197 | 160 (16.8) | 204 (24.2) | <0.001 |
| Dyslipidemia – n (%) | 1,201 (66.9) | 628 (69.5) | 573 (64.2) | 0.021 | 644 (67.5) | 557 (66.2) | 0.547 |
| Family history CAD – n (%) | 612/1,792 (34.2) | 329/903 (36.4) | 283/889 (31.8) | 0.041 | 306/952 (32.1) | 306/840 (36.4) | 0.058 |
| Current/former smoker – n (%) | 943 (52.5) | 462 (51.1) | 481 (53.9) | 0.238 | 463 (48.5) | 480 (57.0) | <0.001 |
| BMI – mean ± SD (kg/m2) | 30.6 ± 5.9 | 30.2 ± 5.9 | 30.9 ± 5.9 | 0.019 | 29.0 ± 5.0 | 32.4 ± 6.3 | <0.001 |
| Risk burden | |||||||
| No risk factors – n (%) | 49 (2.7) | 22 (2.4) | 27 (3.0) | 0.471 | 40 (4.2) | 9 (1.1) | <0.001 |
| Mean number of risk factors – mean ± SD | 2.4 ± 1.1 | 2.4 ± 1.1 | 2.4 ± 1.1 | 0.373 | 2.2 ± 1.1 | 2.5 ± 1.1 | <0.001 |
| ASCVD Risk – median (IQR) | 10.6 (6.018.6) | 8.5 (4.9–14.1) | 12.9 (7.8–22.3) | <0.001 | 9.6 (5.7–16.0) | 12.2 (6.6 21.2) | <0.001 |
| Baseline medications – n (%) | |||||||
| Beta-blocker | 439/1,734 (25.3) | 188/879 (21.4) | 251/855 (29.4) | <0.001 | 212/919 (23.1) | 228/815 (27.9) | 0.023 |
| ACE inhibitor or ARB | 733/1,734 (42.3) | 338/879 (38.5) | 395/855 (46.2) | 0.001 | 361/919 (39.3) | 372/815 (45.6) | 0.009 |
| Statin | 781/1,734 (45.0) | 407/879 (46.3) | 374/855 (43.7) | 0.289 | 430/919 (46.8) | 351/815 (43.1) | 0.122 |
| Aspirin | 817/1,734 (47.1) | 387/879 (44.0) | 430/855 (50.3) | 0.009 | 435/919 (47.3) | 382/815 (46.9) | 0.885 |
| Primary symptom – n (%) | |||||||
| Chest pain | 1,307/1,794 (72.9) | 674/903 (74.6) | 633/891 (71.0) | 0.090 | 723/952 (76.0) | 584/842 (69.4) | 0.002 |
| Dyspnea on exertion | 269/1,794 (15.0) | 118/903 (13.1) | 151/891 (17.0) | 0.024 | 127/952 (13.3) | 142/842 (16.9) | 0.040 |
| Other | 218/1,794 (12.2) | 111/903 (12.3) | 107/891 (12.0) | 0.885 | 102/952 (10.7) | 116/842 (13.8) | 0.051 |
| Type of angina – n | 0.561 | 0.543 | |||||
| Typical | 224 (12.5) | 109 (12.1) | 115 (12.9) | 113 (11.8) | 111 (13.2) | ||
| Atypical | 1,411 (78.6) | 708 (78.3) | 703 (78.8) | 759 (79.6) | 652 (77.4) | ||
| Nonanginal pain | 161 (9.0) | 87 (9.6) | 74 (8.3) | 82 (8.6) | 79 (9.4) | ||
| MACE – n (%) | 60 (3.3) | 20 (2.2) | 40 (4.5) | 0.005 | 22 (2.3) | 38 (4.5) | 0.013 |
Abbreviations: SD standard deviation; IQR interquartile range (25th to 75th percentile); hs-cTn high-sensitivity cardiac troponin; IL-6 interleukin 6; BMI body mass index; ACE, angiotensin-converting enzyme; ARB angiotensin receptor blocker; ASCVD atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease; CAD coronary artery disease; MACE major adverse cardiovascular events.