MONDAY, April 17 (HealthDay News) -- Elevated plasma levels of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in patients who have undergone stenting for acute myocardial infarction is a predictor of later stent restenosis, according to a study in the April issue of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology.
Makiko Ueda, M.D., of Osaka City University in Japan, and colleagues measured plasma oxidized LDL levels on admission and at discharge in 102 patients who were admitted to the hospital for acute myocardial infarction and underwent primary coronary stenting.
The researchers found that six months later, angiographic stent restenosis had occurred in 25 percent of patients. Plasma oxidized-LDL levels at discharge were significantly higher in these patients, according to the study, and this was a significant independent predictor of late lumen loss after stenting.
"This prospective study demonstrates that persistence of an increased level of plasma oxidized LDL at discharge is a strong independent predictor of stent restenosis at six-month follow-up in acute myocardial infarction patients," Ueda and colleagues conclude.
