Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease - the renin angiotensin aldosterone system and inflammatory cells as potential sources of biomarkers

Abstract

Even with the greatly improved treatment options, cardiovascular disease is still an important cause of death and causes a huge disease burden worldwide. Many patients survive their first atherosclerotic disease manifestation and are subsequently at increased risk for complications or secondary events. To be able to identify those patients particularly at risk among apparently stable patients, could further optimize cardiovascular treatment. Biomarkers could be useful in this process. In this thesis we investigated the role of the renin angiotensin aldosterone system in the progression of atherosclerosis and the potential of measuring blood levels of these hormones as possible biomarker for cardiovascular disease prediction. Furthermore, we related the reactivity of circulating (white) blood cells, crucial for the activation and continuation of atherosclerosis, to characteristics of coronary artery disease patients.