Introduction:
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the major concerns with multifocal risk factors, including genetic and lifestyle-related [1]. Coronary artery bypass grafting is still a therapy of choice for complex ischemic heart disease and yields satisfactory long-term outcomes [2].
One of the key cardiovascular pathogenetic processes is the loss of the endothelium’s protective role [3]. Its’ pro-atherosclerotic phenotype is characterized by a reduced nitric oxide production compounded with vasoconstricting overactivity [4]. It has been postulated that vascular endothelial dysfunction secondary to reduced nitric oxide production, oxidative stress, and chronic inflammation is linked with obesity [5]. The relationship between severity of obesity and reduction of endothelial function affecting coronary arteries has already been proved [6.7]. Impaired vasodilatory capacity of coronary circulation precedes structural alterations and carries significant prognostic information [8].
Recently, many authors underlined the impact of mutual correlation between blood cellular components, such as platelet-to-lymphocyte (PLR) or neutrophil-to-lymphocyte (NLR) ratios, and the outcomes of both cardiac and non-cardiac medical interventions [9-11].
In this study, the predominant purpose was to estimate blood flow through aorto-coronary bypass grafts implanted on the beating heart in obese and non-obese patients and to determine its association with the results of the patients’ preoperative blood morphology [12].