Biological markers and cardiac remodelling following the myocardial infarction

Aim: To assess growth stimulating factor ST2 and N-terminal pro b-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels in the sera of myocardial infraction (MI) patients, and their correlation with the adaptive and maladaptive variants of cardiac remodelling. Methods: 87 patients (65 male, 22 females; 67±8.36 years) with ST-elevated MI were included in this study, and 67 patients had an adaptive, physiological, while 20 patients had a maladaptive, pathological variant of myocardium remodelling. Results: On day 1, ST2 and NT-proBNP levels were shown to increase 2.4 and 4.5 folds, respectively, compared with those in the control. ST2 levels in patients with maladaptive remodelling were 1.5-fold higher than those in the adaptive remodelling group. On day 12, a decrease in ST2 levels was observed in both groups. NT-proBNP levels increased 1.8 folds in both groups on day 1, compared with those in the controls. Increased ST2 levels on day 1 after MI were shown to increase the risk of maladaptive remodelling 4.5 folds, while high NT-proBNP levels increased this risk 2.3 times. Conclusions: ST2 level determination allows us to predict the risk of maladaptive remodelling with a higher sensitivity and specificity than using NT-proBNP levels.