MONDAY, April 21 (HealthDay News) -- High serum levels of adiponectin -- a protein hormone exclusively secreted by fat cells -- may independently predict moderate to severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction in patients who have been referred for coronary angiography, according to a study published in the April 15 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology.
Erdal Cavusoglu, M.D., of the State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn in New York and colleagues measured baseline plasma adiponectin in 389 men undergoing coronary angiography for various reasons at a Veterans Affairs medical center.
After adjusting for factors known to affect left ventricular systolic function, such as the extent of coronary artery disease and renal function, the researchers found that adiponectin independently predicted moderate to severe left ventricular dysfunction (ejection fraction less than 45 percent) in the overall group of patients (odds ratio=1.54) and in patients without a history of myocardial infarction (OR=1.52).
"Whether increased adiponectin merely represents a marker of LV dysfunction or is intimately involved in its pathogenesis is unknown," the authors write. "Recent studies have shown that adiponectin influences cardiac remodeling in pathologic states. Thus, increases in adiponectin in the setting of LV dysfunction could represent the body's attempts to prevent further deterioration in systolic function in patients with even subtle degrees of LV dysfunction. Therefore, in this manner, adiponectin may thus be a marker of LV dysfunction, much like brain natriuretic peptide or N-terminal probrain natriuretic peptide."
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