Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) have become increasingly life-threatening during recent decades. Several studies have shown that matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) plays an important role in the process of atherosclerosis and heart remodeling. On the other hand, Vitamin D deficiency has been recognized as a risk factor for CVD. According to the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in our country, Iran, we aimed to evaluate the relationship between vitamin D status and the level of MMP-9 in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. In this prospective cross-sectional study, the patients who were candidates for elective coronary angioplasty were included. Baseline serum MMP-9 and vitamin D levels were measured before intervention. The patients were categorized into three groups: Vitamin D-severely deficient (≤ 10 ng/mL), vitamin D-moderately deficient (11-20 ng/mL), and vitamin D-insufficient/sufficient (> 21 ng/mL). Totally, 150 patients were assessed. The analysis showed that serum MMP-9 levels were higher in patients with lower vitamin-D concentrations. A significant inverse correlation was found between MMP-9 concentration and 25 (OH) vitamin D level (P = 0.039). According to our results, it may be concluded that low levels of vitamin D may lead to more vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques and consequently more cardiovascular adverse effects in post-PCI patients.
Keywords: Acute Coronary Syndrome; Cardiovascular diseases; Matrix Metalloproteinase-9; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention; Vitamin D; Vitamin D deficiency.