# Tendency to acidosis or alkalosis: Which one is associated with coronary artery disease?

## TL;DR

This study found that lower base excess, indicating acidosis, is linked to more severe coronary artery disease.

## Contribution

The study identifies a novel association between acidosis and coronary artery disease severity using base excess measurements.

## Key findings

- Lower base excess was significantly correlated with higher Gensini scores, indicating more severe CAD.
- Negative base excess values were inversely associated with Gensini scores.
- Base excess did not significantly affect patients with normal coronary arteries.

## Abstract

Base excess (BE) is an indicator of non-respiratory acid-base imbalances, which can impact coronary artery disease (CAD). This study evaluated the association between the severity of CAD and peripheral blood BE.

This cross-sectional study included patients aged 18 and older who were candidates for coronary angiography. Demographic and clinical data were collected from medical records. Blood gas analysis was performed on a 2-millilitre arterial blood sample taken from the access artery before contrast injection. All patients underwent coronary angiography, and the Gensini score was calculated.

A total of 351 patients (194 males, 55.3%) were included in the study. The study population had a mean age of 60.79±9.5 and a mean BMI of 29.4±4.85. Coronary angiography revealed normal or minimal (<50% stenosis) findings in 51.3% of cases (15.4% with normal coronary arteries and 35.9% with minimal non-obstructive lesions), single-vessel disease in 17.4%, two-vessel disease in 14.5%, and three-vessel disease in 16.8%. Median Gensini score was 13.0, with an IQR of 3.5 and 49. The findings indicated that a decrease in BE was significantly correlated with elevated Gensini scores (β: -0.04; 95% CI: -0.08 to -0.01; P=0.027). However, BE did not significantly affect the Gensini score of 0 (P=0.843). Moreover, negative values of BE were significantly and inversely associated with the Gensini score (β=-0.05; 95% CI: -0.07 to -0.02, P<0.001).

This study revealed an association between BE and CAD, suggesting that BE tending to acidosis is potentially associated with CAD.