The platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) is an integrated reflection of 2 opposite thrombotic/inflammatory pathways that are easily calculated from a complete blood count. The PLR initially served as a systemic inflammatory biomarker to predict the prognosis of neoplastic diseases. In recent years, the PLR has been used as a prognostic marker in cardiovascular (CV) conditions. In this review, we consider the evidence regarding the association of the PLR with CV disease (CVD) and its possible use as a prognostic marker of CVD. The role of PLR has been investigated in CV conditions in several studies. We assessed clinical trials using PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science (up to April 18, 2018) to evaluate the association between PLR and mortality/major adverse cardiac events in these conditions. Most of these studies reported significant relationships between a high PLR and diverse outcomes. In conclusion, we suggest that PLR is a cheap and easily available systemic inflammatory marker that can predict distinct outcomes in different types of CVD.
Keywords: cardiovascular events; inflammation; platelet to lymphocyte ratio; thrombosis.