Serum Calcification Propensity Is Increased in Myocardial Infarction and Hints at a Pathophysiological Role Independent of Classical Cardiovascular Risk Factors

BACKGROUND: Vascular calcification is associated with increased mortality in patients with cardiovascular disease. Secondary calciprotein particles are believed to play a causal role in the pathophysiology of vascular calcification. The maturation time (T 50) of calciprotein particles provides a measure of serum calcification propensity. We compared T 50 between patients with ST-segment-elevated myocardial infarction and control subjects and studied the association of T 50 with cardiovascular risk factors and outcome.

METHODS: T 50 was measured by nephelometry in 347 patients from the GIPS-III trial and in 254 matched general population controls from PREVEND (Prevention of Renal and Vascular End-Stage Disease). We also assessed the association between T 50 and left ventricular ejection fraction, as well as infarct size, the incidence of ischemia-driven reintervention during 5 years of follow-up, and serum nitrite as a marker of endothelial dysfunction.

RESULTS: Patients with ST-segment-elevated myocardial infarction had a significantly lower T 50 (ie, higher serum calcification propensity) compared with controls (T 50: 289±63 versus 338±56 minutes; P<0.001). In patients with ST-segment-elevated myocardial infarction, lower T 50 was associated with female sex, lower systolic blood pressure, lower total cholesterol, lower LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, lower triglycerides, and higher HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol but not with circulating nitrite or nitrate. Ischemia-driven reintervention was associated with higher LDL ( P=0.03) and had a significant interaction term for T 50 and sex ( P=0.005), indicating a correlation between ischemia-driven reintervention and T 50 above the median in men and below the median in women, between 150 days and 5 years of follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS: Serum calcification propensity is increased in patients with ST-segment-elevated myocardial infarction compared with the general population, and its contribution is more pronounced in women than in men. Its lack of/inverse association with nitrite and blood pressure confirms T 50 to be orthogonal to traditional cardiovascular disease risk factors. Lower T 50 was associated with a more favorable serum lipid profile, suggesting the involvement of divergent pathways of calcification stress and lipid stress in the pathophysiology of myocardial infarction.