The aim of the present study was to examine the relation between the plasma levels of the atrial peptide N-terminal proatrial natriuretic factor (proANF) measured during the 1st 12 h after myocardial infarction and 1-year mortality.
Background.
The atrial peptides atrial natriuretic factor and N-terminal proANF are released from cardiac atria secondary to increased atrial pressures. The plasma levels of both peptides have been found to be related to long-term prognosis when measured in the subacute phase of myocardial infarction.
Methods.
The study was of a retrospective case-control design studying patients enrolled in the Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) II trial. Seventy-six patients who died within the 1st year of enrollment in the trial were matched with another 76 patients who survived. N-terminal proANF was analyzed by radioimmunoassay at enrollment (no later than 4 h after the start of chest pain) and at 50 min, 5 h and 8 h after enrollment.
Results.
At all studied time points the peptide levels were significantly higher in the case group than in the control group. At 8 h after enrollment, an N-terminal proANF value above a cutoff point of 1,500 pmol/liter was associated with an odds ratio for death of 3.9.
Conclusions.
The plasma level of N-terminal proANF, when measured during the 1st 12 h after the onset of chest pain, is related to 1-year mortality after myocardial infarction. Together with previous findings, these results suggest that N-terminal proANF measurements represent a valuable supplement to currently used prognostic indicators after myocardial infarction.
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This work was supported by research contracts from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. A complete list of the TIMI II investigators appears in reference 20.
