ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate peripheral blood apelin levels in patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and their correlation with the one-year outcome of the patients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 153 consecutive patients, including 93 with acute STEMI undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), 30 with acute STEMI and 30 with stable angina all undergoing elective PCI, and 10 healthy control subjects were examined for peripheral blood apelin levels and clinical parameters. The composite endpoints (CEPs) were determined at the one year follow-up.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Apelin levels were significantly decreased in all the patients at admission, but increased following primary PCI. Apelin levels showed a negative correlation with glycosylated hemoglobin levels. At one year following PCI, the patients with a lower apelin level showed an increased risk for lowered left ventricular ejection fraction ratio, but further analysis failed to provide evidence that apelin levels were predictive of the one-year outcome.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Peripheral blood apelin levels might be useful for predicting the clinical outcomes of patients with acute STEMI.</p>