Coronary angiography is one of the principal methods used for diagnosing and assessing coronary artery lesions.1 However, qualitative evaluation of coronary artery stenosis with coronary angiography is not always reliable and the visible anatomic stenosis may not be hemodynamically significant. FFR measurement is awell-establishedmethod for functional assessment of lesion severity, which involves the measurement of a coronary artery lesion's hemodynamic significance when the coronary artery stenosis is particularly between 40 and 70% (i.e. at an intermediate level).2 Inflammation, oxidative stress, platelet activation and endothelial dysfunction assume an important role in both the development and progression of atherosclerosis.3,4 Monocytes and macrophages are the main types of cells that secrete proinflammatory cytokines, which play a central role in in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.4 Studies have shown that the adverse effects of low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) on endothelial cells can be limited by high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), which prevents the oxidation of LDL.5–7 HDL-C is believed to have both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. A new cardiovascular disease marker that has appeared in recent times is the monocyte to HDL-C ratio (MHR), which combines the prognostic and predictive effectiveness of twowidely used and accessible laboratory parameters.8–10 The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship betweenMHRand the functional significance of intermediate level coronary artery stenosis evaluated with FFR measurement.
Keywords: Monocyte to HDL ratio Fractional flow reserve Coronary artery stenosis Plateletcrit