American Journal of Cardiovascular Disease Research, 2013, Vol. 1, No. 1, 25-29 Available online at http://pubs.sciepub.com/ajcdr/1/1/6 © Science and Education Publishing DOI:10.12691/ajcdr-1-1-6 Relation of Cardiovascular Risk Factors with Coronary Angiographic Findings in Iraqi Patients with Ischemic Heart Disease Ameen Mosa Mohammad 1,2,* , Sabri Khalif Sheikho 1,2 , Jasim Mohammed Tayib 3,4 1 Department of Medicine, Duhok College of Medicine, Kurdistan Region, Iraq 2 Cardiologist and fellow in Interventional Cardiology, Azadi Heart Center, Azadi Teaching Hospital, Duhok Governorate, Iraq 3 Department of Medicine, Mosul College of Medicine, Iraq 4 Cardiologist, Ibn-Sina Teaching Hospital, Mosul Governorate, Iraq *Corresponding author: doctoramb@yahoo.com Received July 31, 2013; Revised November 24, 2013; Accepted December 08, 2013 Abstract Background: Atherosclerotic coronary artery disease is a major cause of death all over the world. Among patients with coronary artery disease, there are different cardiovascular risk factors which may exhibit their effects on coronary angiographic findings. This work aimed to study the relation of different cardiovascular risk factors with coronary angiographic findings in patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD). Methods: This case- series prospective study involved 220 patients with IHD who underwent coronary angiography in Mosul Cardiac Catheterization Unit in Ibn-Sina Teaching Hospital over a period of five months from April 1 st through August 31 st 2006. Patients with different coronary risk factors including smoking, positive family history of IHD, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), hypertension (HT), dyslipidemia, obesity and physical inactivity who presented with IHD were categorized and compared according to presentations into; ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) ( n = 72), Non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and/or unstable angina (n = 98) and chronic stable angina (n = 50) and then the patients were re-grouped according to the number of cardiovascular risk factors into patients with < 3 risk factors (n = 125) vs. those with > 3 risk factors (n = 95). Results: There were significant associations between the risk factors and the angiographic characteristics in patients with IHD. There were more significantly stenosed lesions among patients with > 3 risk factors compared to patients with < 3 risk factors (p < 0.05). Lesions were more diffused (p < 0.01), with higher incidence of left ventricular dysfunction (p < 0.001) among former patients compared to later ones. Conclusions: Significant findings were observed in the angiographic profile of patients with multiple risk factors. There were more multi-vessels and diffused angiographic findings among patients with chronic stable angina. Keywords: risk factor, ischemic heart disease, coronary angiography Cite This Article: Ameen Mosa Mohammad, Sabri Khalif Sheikho, and Jasim Mohammed Tayib, “Relation of Cardiovascular Risk Factors with Coronary Angiographic Findings in Iraqi Patients with Ischemic Heart Disease.” American Journal of Cardiovascular Disease Research 1, no. 1 (2013): 25-29. doi: 10.12691/ajcdr-1-1- 6. 1. Introduction Coronary artery disease (CAD) due to atherosclerosis is a major cause of death all over the world and is the most common form of heart diseases. Its incidence is increasing among different populations and by 2020 it is estimated that it will be the major cause of death all over the world [1]. There is a number of personal attributes that may increase liability for development of CAD often described as risk factors. Nowadays, the prevalence of these risk factors tends to increase in developing countries compared to the developed world because of lack of institutional implementation of specific policies that target these risk factors [2]. In clinical practice coronary stenosis is often considered as the main cause of myocardial ischemia. However, other causes should be considered especially in normal coronary angoigraphy in documented cases of ischemic heart disease (IHD). Although there are many advances in modalities for evaluation of coronary lesions, however the coronary angiography remains the “gold standard” for identifying the presence or absence of stenosis in coronary arteries and meanwhile provides reliable information during percutaneous coronary intervention [3]. The main aim of the current study is to clarify the impact of the cardiovascular risk factors on coronary angiographic profile of the Iraqi patients with IHD. Other specific objectives would rather be to test whether different coronary risk factors can influence the patterns of coronary angiography among different subtypes of IHD