THURSDAY, Oct. 23 (HealthDay News) -- ST2 is a prognostic marker in acute heart failure and is also associated with a number of patient-specific characteristics, researchers report in the Oct. 28 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Shafiq U. Rehman, M.D., of the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues examined the effect of patient-specific clinical and biochemical characteristics on the interleukin-1 receptor family member ST2, and examined the association between ST2 concentrations and outcomes in patients with acute heart failure. The correlation between ST2 and demographics, severity/type of heart failure and other biomarkers were examined and the prognostic ability of ST2 was calculated.
The investigators found that ST2 values were significantly correlated with the severity of heart failure, left ventricular ejection fraction, creatinine clearance, B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and C-reactive protein, but not age, prior heart failure or body mass index. Initial ST2 levels were higher among patients dying by one year, and ST2 remained a significant predictor of mortality (hazard ratio, 2.04) in adjusted multivariable analyses. The highest rates of death were noted among patients with both ST2 and BNP elevations, while BNP did not predict mortality among patients with a low ST2 level, the report indicates.
"In summary, ST2 concentrations in acute heart failure represent a marker of disease severity, myocardial stretch and inflammation, and portend a powerfully negative prognosis, independent of established clinical and biochemical predictors in this setting," the authors conclude.
Abstract
Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
Editorial
