Discriminative value of lipids and apoproteins in coronary heart disease.

Serum cholesterol, HDL cholesterol (HDL-C), and apoproteins, A1, A2 and B were determined in 70 male survivors of myocardial infarction and in an equal number of healthy controls, matched for age, sex and body mass index. In univariate analyses, the Apo B/Apo A1 ratio discriminated the best between cases and controls, giving a 72% exact classification. In a multivariate analysis, the Apo B/Apo A1 ratio, HDL-C and the Apo A2/Apo A1 ratio contributed independently to the discrimination of cases from controls while the overall exact classification was 82%. These promising results were comparable in younger and older subgroups. Thus, the determination of apoproteins yielded complementary information in this cross-sectional survey and warrants further study in a prospective setting.