White blood cell count adds prognostic information to the thrombolysis in myocardial infarction risk index in patients following primary percutaneous coronary intervention (ANIN Myocardial Infarction Registry)

Inflammatory cell response following ST-elevation myocardial infarction treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention and its impact on cardiovascular outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Inflammatory responses post STEMI may mediate major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). This is the first systematic review to map leukocyte response following a STEMI and its association with outcomes.

METHODS

We systematically searched EMBASE and Medline for studies of STEMIs undergoing primary PCI. Eligible studies reported leukocytes or its subtype plus either 30-day and/or 1-year MACE. Random effects model for pooled proportions was used to estimate 30-day and 1-year mortality and MACE. Meta-regression was used to estimate the effect of leukocyte counts on cardiovascular outcomes. Publication bias was assessed using Egger's regression-based test. The review was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42019124991).

RESULTS

Of the 3,813 studies meeting the preliminary search criteria, 24 cohort studies were eligible for inclusion, representing 19,074 persons [76.4% male (n = 14,539); mean age 61.6 years]. Leukocytes had a mean of 10.5x10⁹ (SD 4.7) on admission and 11.1x10⁹ (SD 3.3) at day one post STEMI. Neutrophils increased day one post STEMI, while lymphocytes decreased. There was limited data on other leukocyte subtypes and beyond day one. Estimated 30-day and 1-year all-cause mortality were 6.5% (95% CI 4.8-8.2, p <0.001) and 9.7% (95% CI 5.6-13.8, p <0.001), while the estimated 30-day and 1-year MACE were 14.9% (95% CI 5.3-24.4, p < 0.001) and 15.2% (95% CI 7.2-23.2, p < 0.001). The meta-analysis was limited by a high degree of heterogeneity between studies.

CONCLUSIONS

This review highlights the urgent need to better characterise inflammation post STEMI to identify mediators for the persistently high mortality and morbidity associated with STEMI.

White Blood Cell Counts to High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Ratio, as a Novel Predictor of Long-Term Adverse Outcomes in Patients After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Background: White blood cell (WBC) counts and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) are widely available in clinical practice. However, the predictive value for cardiovascular disease (CVD) is uncertain. In the present study, we firstly assessed the prognostic value of WBC to HDL-C ratio (WHR) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods: Six thousand and fifty patients with CAD after PCI from a retrospective cohort study (identifier: ChiCTR-INR-16010153) were evaluated initially. Three hundred and seventy-one patients were excluded due to HDL cholesterol data not available, malignancy, dementia, psoriasis or eczema, systemic connective tissue disorders, multiple sclerosis, chronic liver disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder. Finally, 5,679 patients were included in the study. The primary outcome was long-term mortality. Secondary endpoints were mainly major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs), defined as a combination of stroke, cardiac death, stent thrombosis, recurrent myocardial infarction, and target vessel revascularization. The mean follow-up time of this study was 35.9 ± 22.5 months. We defined the best cutoff value of MHR according to the receiver operating curve (ROC), and then patients were divided into high and low WHR groups according to the cutoff value. We analyzed the data in both an acute coronary syndrome group (ACS) and a stable CAD subgroup, respectively.

Results: Overall, there were 293 cases of long-term mortality during the follow-up period. According to the cutoff value (WHR = 8.25), 1,901 ACS patients were divided into high WHR group (n = 724) and low WHR group (n = 1,177). Compared to low WHR group, the incidence of all-cause mortality (ACM, 5.5 vs. 3.6%, p = 0.048) and cardiac death (4.7vs. 2.9%, p = 0.042) were significantly higher in the high WHR group. In stable CAD group, we also found the incidence of ACM and cardiac death were significantly higher in the high group compared to that in the low group. We did not find significant difference between the high and the low WHR group in the incidence of MACCEs. The multivariate Cox proportional hazards model showed that increased WHR level was independently correlated with the mortality. In the high WHR group, the risk of ACM increased two times in ACS [adjusted HR = 2.036 (1.258–3.296), p = 0.004] and 1.5 times in stable CAD [adjusted HR = 1.586 (1.178–2.136), p = 0.002].

Conclusion: The present study indicated that an increased WBC count to HDL-C ratio was independently associated with long-term mortality in CAD patients who underwent PCI.

Risk is not flat. Comprehensive approach to multidimensional risk management in ST-elevation myocardial infarction treated with primary angioplasty (ANIN STEMI Registry)

Introduction

Current risk assessment concepts in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) are suboptimal for guiding clinical management.

Aim

To elaborate a composite risk management concept for STEMI, enhancing clinical decision making.

Material and methods

1995 unselected, registry patients with STEMI treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) (mean age 60.1 years, 72.1% men) were included in the study. The independent risk markers were grouped by means of factor analysis, and the appropriate hazards were identified.

Results

In-hospital death was the primary outcome, observed in 95 (4.7%) patients. Independent predictors of mortality included age, leukocytosis, hyperglycemia, tachycardia, low blood pressure, impaired renal function, Killip > 1, anemia, and history of coronary disease. The factor analysis identified two significant clusters of risk markers: 1. age-anemia- impaired renal function, interpreted as the patient-related hazard; and 2. tachycardia-Killip > 1-hyperglycemia-leukocytosis, interpreted as the event-related (hemodynamic) hazard. The hazard levels (from low to high) were defined based on the number of respective risk markers. Patient-related hazard determined outcomes most significantly within the low hemodynamic hazard group.

Conclusions

The dissection of the global risk into the combination of patient- and event-related (hemodynamic) hazards allows comprehensive assessment and management of several, often contradictory sources of risk in STEMI. The cohort of high-risk STEMI patients despite hemodynamically trivial infarction face the most suboptimal outcomes under the current invasive management strategy.

White blood cell count and endothelin-1 vasoconstrictor tone in middle-aged and older adults

BACKGROUND

Higher white blood cell (WBC) count is associated with impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilation. However, the influence of higher WBC count on endothelin (ET)-1 vasoconstrictor activity is currently unknown. We tested the hypothesis that adults with elevated WBC count demonstrate enhanced ET-1 system activity.

METHODS

Thirty-four healthy adults were studied: 17 with WBC count < 5.0 × 10⁹ cells/L (lower WBC; 9M/8F; age: 53 ± 2 yr) and 17 with WBC count > 5.0 × 10⁹ cells/L (higher WBC; 10M/7F; 54 ± 3 yr). Forearm blood flow (FBF) responses to intra-brachial infusion of ET-1 (5 pmol/min for 20 min) and selective ET_A receptor blockade (BQ-123; 100 nmol/min for 60 min) were measured by venous occlusion plethysmography.

RESULTS

The vasoconstrictor response to ET-1 was significantly blunted (∼60%) in the higher WBC group versus the lower WBC group. The FBF responses to selective ET_A receptor blockade were also significantly different (P < 0.05) between the groups. In the lower WBC group, resting FBF increased marginally (∼5%) to BQ-123, whereas the increase in FBF to BQ-123 was significantly greater (∼15%) in higher WBC group. Furthermore, there was a significant relation between WBC count and FBF response to ET-1 (r = -0.43) and BQ-123 (r = 0.41).

CONCLUSIONS

Relative elevations in WBC count in middle-aged and older adults, independent of adiposity and other cardiometabolic risk factors, are associated with enhanced ET-1-mediated vasoconstrictor tone. Elevated ET-1 system activity may be a mechanism linking higher WBC count with increased cardiovascular risk.

Relationship between white blood cell count and in-hospital outcomes in acute coronary syndrome patients from the Middle East

We evaluated the relationship between admission white blood cell (WBC) count and in-hospital outcomes in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients from the Middle East. Data were analyzed from 7806 consecutive patients with ACS who were divided into 4 groups (G) according to their WBC count (× 10(9)/L; G1: < 6.00; G2: 6.00-9.99; G3: 10.00-11.99; G4: ≥ 12.00). After significant covariate adjustment, those in G4 were 68% more likely to have cardiogenic shock than those in G1 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.05-2.68; P = .030) and G2 (odds ratio [OR], 2.02; 95% CI: 1.51-2.71; P < .001). Those in G4 were 2.02 times (95% CI: 1.11-3.67; P = .021) and 65% (95% CI: 1.17-2.32; P = .004) more likely to die in hospital than those in G1 and G2, respectively. Admission WBC count is an independent risk factor for in-hospital cardiogenic shock and mortality, in Middle Eastern patients with ACS. Novel therapeutic agents targeting WBCs in patients with ACS may improve outcomes.

Hematologic parameters, atherosclerotic progression, and prognosis in patients with previous coronary artery bypass grafting (from the Post CABG Trial)

Although inflammatory markers and anemia have both been associated with prognosis in patients with cardiovascular disease, their relation with atherosclerotic progression in patients with previous coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is unknown. A total of 1,273 patients enrolled in the Post CABG Trial who had undergone CABG 1 to 11 years before entry were studied. Subjects were randomly assigned to lovastatin in low or high doses and low-dose warfarin or placebo in a factorial design. Subjects underwent coronary angiography at baseline and after a mean follow-up of 4.3 years. White blood cells (WBCs), hemoglobin, and platelets were measured at baseline in all subjects. Graft progression was defined as a decrease > or =0.6 mm in lumen diameter at the site of greatest change at follow-up. During follow-up, 195 subjects sustained a clinical event and 857 grafts developed significant worsening. Risk of clinical events tended to be greater with higher WBC counts, with hazard ratios for ascending quartiles of 1.4 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.9 to 2.2), 1.6 (95% CI 1.0 to 2.6), and 1.6 (95% CI 1.0 to 2.7). WBC count also tended to be associated with significant atherosclerotic progression, particularly in subjects assigned to placebo rather than warfarin (p interaction = 0.04). There was no association of hemoglobin or platelet count with risk of clinical events or graft progression, but few trial subjects were anemic. In conclusion, WBC count is associated with a graded increase in cardiovascular events in patients with coronary artery bypass grafts.

Hemoglobin, leukocytosis and clinical outcomes of ST-elevation myocardial infarction treated with primary angioplasty: ANIN Myocardial Infarction Registry

BACKGROUND

Hemoglobin (Hb) levels may interact with inflammatory activation, but it is unknown whether the interaction has any impact on clinical outcomes in acute coronary syndromes. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between admission Hb levels, leukocytosis and clinical outcomes of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) treated with primary angioplasty. Methods and Results The study group comprised 1,904 (1,380 men) patients with STEMI treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention, enrolled in a prospective registry. The primary endpoint of in-hospital death occurred in 90 (4.7%) patients. According to univariate analysis, extreme values of Hb (for 1(st) and 5(th) vs mid quintiles respectively: hazard ratio (HR) =7.1, P<0.001 and HR =3.2, P=0.024) and leukocytosis above median (HR =2.09, P=0.001) significantly correlated with in-hospital death. After dividing patients into high and low white blood cell (WBC) count groups, a U-shaped relationship of Hb levels and mortality was observed for patients with higher leukocytosis (1(st) and 5(th) vs mid quintiles respectively: HR =8.1, P=0.001 and HR =4.4, P=0.022), whereas in patients with lower WBC count higher mortality was related solely to the lowest Hb quintile (HR =6.9, P=0.010 vs mid quintile). Conclusion Higher mortality associated with higher Hb levels in STEMI patients treated with primary angioplasty is limited to patients with increased leukocytosis.

Innate immunity has a dual effect on vascular healing: suppression and aggravation of neointimal formation and remodeling post-endotoxin challenge

BACKGROUND

Inflammation is important to vascular repair following injury, modulating neointimal proliferation and remodeling. Previously, we have shown that a low-intensity inflammatory response aggravates neointimal formation following balloon and stent injury. The present study examined whether modulation of the extent and timing of nonspecific inflammation mediates the local vascular response in an additive unidirectional or rather a bidirectional fashion.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Rabbits subjected to denudation and balloon injury of the iliac artery were treated with low (1 microg/kg) or high (100 microg/kg) doses of bacterial endotoxin (LPS) immediately after injury, or with early high-dose LPS administered 3 days prior to injury (preconditioning). Neointimal formation at 28 days was significantly increased in the low-dose group (0.537+/-0.059 mm(2)) as compared with controls (0.3+/-0.03 mm(2)). High-dose LPS did not significantly affect neointimal formation while early high dose significantly reduced neointima (0.296+/-0.033 and 0.194+/-0.025 mm(2), respectively, n=12-14/group). Arterial wall and systemically circulating interleukin-1 beta levels, and monocyte CD14 activation correlated with neointimal formation. Vascular remodeling was accelerated in animals treated with low- or high-dose LPS while not affected in the preconditioned group. Remodeling index inversely correlated with arterial matrix metalloproteinase-2 levels 6 days after injury.

CONCLUSIONS

The extent and timing of nonspecific inflammation that is concurrent with vascular injury can determine different and opposite vascular repair patterns.