Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is common among patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and highly prevalent in those with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). But are all elements of MetS equally good predictors of clinical severity and prognosis?
To find out, researchers from Sestre Milosrdnice University Hospital Center in Zagreb, Croatia, prospectively analyzed data of 250 patients with acute STEMI who were treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the revised National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III and the International Diabetes Federation.
Patients with and without MetS were analyzed according to obesity indexes: body mass index (BMI); central-body adiposity index (BAI); conicity index (Cindex); visceral adiposity index (VAI); waist circumference (WC); waist-to-hip ratio (WHR); and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR).
During hospitalization, 19 patients died; 231 were included in the 12-month follow-up.
Patients with acute STEMI had high rates of central obesity, increased VAI, WHtR, and very high BAI, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. However, they had lower rates of overall obesity and hyperglycemia.
The researchers found MetS and several obesity indexes were superior to overall obesity BMI in predicting acute STEMI severity: clinical presentation, in-hospital complications, and severity of CAD. Waist circumference and MetS had no influence on prognosis. Moreover, MetS and obesity indexes had no influence on prognosis of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE).
The researchers also found Cindex > 1.25/1.18, very high BAI, and WHtR ≥ 63/58 increased the risk of total in-hospital complications, dyspnea, and heart failure, respectively. The number of significantly stenosed coronary arteries increased the risk of total MACE. Waist-to-hip ratio independently increased the risk of significant stenosis of the coronary segment 1 and proximal/middle coronary artery (CA) segments.
In a previous study, the researchers had found that MetS patients had longer hospitalization and severe CAD. However, although MetS increased the risk of > 1 significantly stenosed CAs and total in-hospital complications, none of the MetS components per se significantly influenced clinical severity or prognosis; except hyperglycemia, which increased the risk of heart failure. The researchers found that was still true in this study, but Cindex was a stronger predictor of total in-hospital complications. The researchers concluded that VAI is more reliable than WC for predicting clinical severity of acute STEMI.
Source:
Jelavic MM, Barbic Z, Pintaric H. Arch Med Sci. 2017;13(4):795-806.
doi: https://doi.org/10.5114/aoms.2016.59703.