High-risk clinical features predict increased post-infarction myocardial apoptosis and the benefits as a result of an open infarct-related artery

Background: Infarct-related artery (IRA) patency after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is associated with a more favourable clinical course, in particular in patients with high-risk features. As it has been recently reported that IRA patency is associated with a reduced postinfarction apoptotic rate (AR), the aim of our study was to assess whether IRA status late after AMI had a different impact on AR in high- vs. low-risk patients. Methods and results: Co-localization of TUNEL and caspase-3 was used to calculate the AR at the site of infarction at the time of death in 30 subjects. The Norris coronary prognostic index (NI) was calculated (computing age, presence of pulmonary congestion, heart size and history of previous additional AMI) in order to define the patients' individual risk at the time of hospitalization. According to the NI (≤ 7 vs. > 7), subjects were divided into low and high risk, as NI > 7 carries an approximate threefold higher risk of death. The NI was significantly correlated with the AR at the time of death both in infarct and remote areas. Twenty subjects had IRA occlusion at the time of death, and in these patients AR was significantly higher both in infarct and remote areas (P < 0.001 and P = 0.009 vs. the others, respectively). However the impact of IRA occlusion on AR was significantly different comparing high- vs. low-risk subjects. In particular, AR at the infarct site was 10-fold higher in the high-risk subjects with IRA occlusion (26-1% [20.4-28.7%]) vs. those with open IRA (2.3% [0.6-3.5%]; P = 0.002) and was nonsignificantly different in the low-risk subjects vs. those without IRA occlusion (8.2% [2.5-17.5%] vs. 5.4% [1.5-7.9%]; P = 0.48). Similarly, in the high-risk subjects, AR in remote areas was significantly greater in cases with occluded vs. open IRA (0.7% [0.4-0.9%] vs. 0.3% [0.3-0.32%]; P = 0.009). Conclusion: A significantly higher AR is associated with IRA occlusion late post AMI in subjects with high-risk clinical features, and not in low-risk patients. The diverse impact of IRA occlusion on AR in subjects with different risk profiles may explain the greater benefit associated with coronary reperfusion in high-risk subjects. The overall lower AR in low-risk subjects, independently from the IRA status, may be correlated with the better long-term prognosis after AMI in this case.