ABSTRACT
Background:High white blood cell/leucocyte counts were predicted as important biomarkers for future cardiovascular events in both healthy individuals and are having history myocardial infarction. The aim of the study was to assess the role of leucocytes as predictors of morbidity and mortality during the hospitalization of patients with acute myocardial infarction.Methods:This was a prospective study conducted on 79 patients with evolving STEMI attending the emergency department of Maharaja Yeshwant Rao Hospital, Indore during the period from November 2004 to July 2005. Blood total leucocyte count (TLC) was done in all the patients. All-cause mortality rate during the follow up period was defined as the primary end point of the study. Composite of death, reinfarction and heart failure till follow up day were defined as the secondary outcomes.Results:The mean age of the patients was 55.9±10.4 years. Male dominance was (86%) seen in the study. The mean TLC in the study population was 12345±4922/cumm. A total of 16 (20.2%) patients were died during 3 months of follow up. Statistically significant difference (p<0.001) was seen for characteristics such as age, risk index score,mean blood pressure heart rate and the Kilip class between survivors and non-survivors. The mean difference of TLC and mean CKMB was greater in non-survivors compared to survivors but the difference was not significant (p=0.177). Age, risk index, Kilip class, serum creatinine and baseline TLC, was found to affect the occurrence of the events significantly with a p value of less than 0.05. Conclusions: The findings conclude that the high blood leucocyte count was proved to be an important prognostic factorfor assessing the severity of acute myocardial infarction in study population