Serum uric acid in patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND Few studies investigated serum uric acid levels in patients with acute Stelevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The study was to assess the clinical value of serum uric acid levels in patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). METHODS Totally 502 consecutive patients with STEMI were retrospectively studied from January 2005 to December 2010. The level of serum lipid, echocardiographic data and in-hospital major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients with hyperuricemia (n=119) were compared with those in patients without hyperuricemia (n=383). The relationship between the level of serum uric acid and the degree of diseased coronary artery was analyzed. All data were analyzed with SPSS version 17.0 software for Student's t test, the Chi-square test and Pearson's correlation coefficient analysis. RESULTS Serum uric acid level was positively correlated with serum triglyceride level. Hyperlipidemia was more common in hyperuricemia patients than in non-hyperuricemia patients (43.7% vs. 33.7%, P=0.047), and serum triglyceride level was significantly higher in hyperuricemia patients (2.11±1.24 vs. 1.78±1.38, P=0.014). But no significant association was observed between serum uric acid level and one or more diseased vessels (P>0.05). Left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDd) was larger in hyperuricemia patients than in non-hyperuricemia patients (53.52±6.19 vs. 52.18±4.89, P=0.041). The higher rate of left systolic dysfunction and diastolic dysfunction was discovered in hyperuricemia patients (36.4% vs. 15.1%, P<0.001; 68.2% vs. 55.8%, P=0.023). Also, hyperuricemia patients were more likely to have in-hospital MACE (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Serum uric acid level is positively correlated with serum triglyceride level, but not with the severity of coronary artery disease. Hyperuricemia patients with STEMI tend to have a higher rate of left systolic dysfunction and diastolic dysfunction and more likely to have more in hospital MACE.