The usefulness of C-reactive protein for the prediction of post-infarct left ventricular systolic dysfunction and heart failure.

The usefulness of C-reactive protein for the prediction of post-infarct left ventricular systolic dysfunction and heart failure. Kardiol Pol. 2018 Apr 10;: Authors: Swiatkiewicz I, Taub PR Abstract Acute myocardial infarction (MI) provokes a systemic inflammatory response that may contribute to the development of left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) and heart failure (HF). Patients with post-infarct HF with concomitant LVSD have the most unfavourable long-term prognosis. Measurement of C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration reflecting an involvement of inflammatory pathways in post-infarct myocardial damage offers an attractive strategy to improve risk stratification and clinical decision-making for early management of high-risk patients. Despite growing evidence for the prognostic value of CRP both as a single factor and as a component of multi-marker approach in MI, CRP measurement is not yet considered in current guidelines. This may be due to conflicting results reported in existing studies related to various limitations in study designs, such as retrospective case control design, prior myocardial damage, CRP measurement with low-sensitivity assays, non-homogenous populations with acute coronary syndromes, different treatment strategies, small sample sizes, and the lack of left ventricular ejection fraction assessment, and long-term clinical and echocardiographic monitoring. As a result, previous studies have not provided...
Source: Polish Heart Journal - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Kardiol Pol Source Type: research