Prostaglandins and Thromboxane Status in Patients with Cardiovascular Diseases in Ekiti State, Nigeria

Aims: Prostaglandins and Thromboxane A2 are prostanoids, with platelet aggregator and vasoconstrictor properties. This study was carried out to assess the prostaglandins and thromboxane status of patients with cardiovascular diseases in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Study Design: This is a comparative study. Methodology: Two hundred patients with various cardiovascular diseases (Stroke, Ischemic heart disease, Hypertension, Hypertension with diabetes and Hypertension with Obesity) were recruited from Federal Teaching Hospital, Iddo Ekiti and Ekiti State Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti. Thirty subjects without cardiovascular diseases were used as a control. Their age range was between 30 and 90 years. Plasma prostaglandin, PGD-2, PGE-1 and thromboxane TXA2 were evaluated in all groups by the use of Enzyme-Linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The data obtained was subjected to student t-test and ANOVA. Results: The results showed a significant increase (P>0.05) in the plasma levels of prostaglandin (PGD-2, PGE-1) and thromboxane A2 (TXA2) in all the cardiovascular groups when compared with the control. Plasma levels of TXA2 were found to be significantly higher (P>0.05) in stroke patients when compared with the other type of diseased cardiovascular patients. Conclusion: This study shows that the assessment of plasma prostaglandin and thromboxane levels in cardiovascular disease could be an essential tool in the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases.