Liver enzyme Gamma Glutamyl Transferase (GGT) level in patients with and without coronary artery disease (CAD): A cross sectional study

Abstract

Background: Globally, Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is the key cause of morbidity and mortality. Gamma Glutamyl Transferase (GGT) levels are related to cardiovascular issue of chronic heart failure, and an increased level of GGT has been revealed to be an independent predictive maker for cardiac death. Aims and Objective: To determine and compare the serum GGT levels in patients with and without CAD. Materials and Methods: A total of 156 subjects, 78 participants with CAD and 78 participants without CAD were considered in the cross-sectional study done during January 2020 to October 2022 at the Department of Biochemistry and Department of Medicine, RIMS, Imphal. In all the subjects, the concentration of serum GGT, ALT, AST, Total Cholesterol, LDL and HDL assayed. Results: Results showed that there is a significant rise in mean serum GGT level in cases compared to control and total cholesterol was also significantly higher in cases compared to control. Similarly, GGT levels and total cholesterol level were positively correlated in CAD patients (r=0.564 and p-value <0.05). In majority of cases serum GGT was above 36U/L (94.9%). Conclusion: Serum GGT may be used as potential biomarker for assessing cardiovascular risk. GGT is positively associated with traditional risk factors for CAD. It can be used as inexpensive screening tool for early intervention in major cardiac events.