Higher IL-6 levels but not IL6 −174G>C or −572G>C genotype are associated with post-operative complication following coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery

Large increases in inflammatory markers, particularly IL-6, occur after cardiac surgery. However, despite interventions to reduce the inflammatory response, great variability still remains which could in part be attributable to genetic predisposition. Since increased IL-6 levels following surgery are also associated with poorer outcome we sought to determine whether baseline and post-operative levels of Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and functional common variants of the Interleukin-6 (IL6) gene are associated with post-operative outcome following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).