Angiotension-converting enzyme gene I/D polymorphism in patients with angina and normal coronary arteriograms

A polymorphism of the human angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene has been identified in which the insertion (I) rather than the deletion (D) variant is associated with lower circulating and tissue ACE activity. ACE I allele is associated with resistance and endurance performance. Skeletal muscle metabolic efficiency is reduced in patients with heart failure and is improved by ACE inhibition. Profound muscle fatigue is a predominant and debilitating symptom in a proportion or patients with angina and normal coronary arteriograms (ANCA), and we postulated that the gene D allele might be associated with the presence of fatigue in ANCA patients. We studied 33 consecutive patients with typical ANCA who completed a validated fatigue questionnaire, and found an excess of the D allele frequency in patients with the highest fatigue scores compared to those with the lowest (64% vs. 36%; p=0.027).