Early expressed circulating long noncoding RNA CHAST is associated with cardiac contractile function in patients with acute myocardial infarction

The mortality rate during the acute myocardial infarction (AMI) phase has substantially decreased, but post-AMI cardiac remodeling remains an important factor affecting patient prognosis. Several circulating long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are reportedly involved in the chronic pathological process of cardiac function and remodeling in cardiovascular diseases. However, the potential roles of these circulating lncRNAs as biomarkers of cardiac function and remodeling during early-stage AMI remain unclear. Fifty-three patients with AMI and 90 controls without AMI were consecutively enrolled in this study. Clinical parameters and blood samples at different time points (i.e., 24 h and 3 days) were collected. Compared with the controls, the circulating levels of cardiac hypertrophy-associated transcript (CHAST) significantly increased in AMI patients, and the CHAST levels obviously decreased at 3 days. In AMI patients, the expression levels of CHAST at 24 h were positively associated with cardiac contractile function and measured as left ventricular ejection fraction and left ventricular short-axis shortening rate (all P