Prognostic Value of Myeloperoxidase in Patients with Chest Pain

Inflammation appears to have a key role in acute coronary syndromes. Myeloperoxidase, an enzyme that generates reactive oxygen species, is released from leukocytes on activation, and plasma levels of myeloperoxidase may serve as a marker of inflammation. In this study, plasma myeloperoxidase levels were found to be predictive of subsequent coronary events in patients with chest pain, even when patients were initially negative for troponin T. Plasma levels had predictive value in patients with chest pain. Coronary thrombosis results in serious adverse cardiac events, even in the presence of aggressive intervention and treatment. 1 – 3 Levels of creatine kinase isoenzymes and cardiac troponins, which are diagnostic biologic markers of myocardial necrosis, are used either alone or in conjunction with levels of C-reactive protein as prognostic indicators of myocardial infarction. 4 , 5 Many patients with chest pain have normal levels of creatine kinase isoenzymes or troponins at presentation but subsequently have a myocardial infarction, require revascularization, or die within six months. Additional biochemical measures, ideally based on the pathophysiology of plaque vulnerability, are needed. Inflammation has been linked to . . .