Circulating fibrocyte levels positively correlate with infarct size in STEMI patients: Study

USA: A recent study reveals that measuring circulating fibrocyte levels 6 months after STEMI is positively associated with 6-month infarct size assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR).

The findings, published in the journal American Heart Journal Plus: Cardiology Research and Practice, if validated in a larger study circulating fibrocyte levels could be used as a biomarker of infarct size. Also, changes in circulating fibrocyte levels could potentially be used to assess the response to therapy. 

Previous studies have shown infarct size to be a strong predictor of outcomes after ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Circulating fibrocytes are bone marrow-derived progenitor cells related to fibrotic processes. Considering this, Ellen C.Keeley, Department of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA, and colleagues aimed to test whether fibrocytes correlate with infarct size in STEMI patients treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in a prospective observational study.

The study included patients with STEMI treated with primary PCI. The main outcome measure was a correlation of fibrocyte levels with infarct size.

Using flow cytometry, the researchers quantified peripheral blood fibrocytes at discharge from STEMI hospitalization and at 6 months follow-up. Infarct size was determined within 2 weeks of discharge and at 6 months follow-up using late gadolinium enhancement on CMR.