Tissue factor/tissue factor pathway inhibitor system and long-term prognosis after acute myocardial infarction

The tissue factor and tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) system has been studied in the acute phase of coronary disease but its prognostic importance has been less well assessed. We evaluated its association with recurrent coronary events during long-term follow-up after a myocardial infarction. Methods: We studied 55 consecutive patients with the following criteria for inclusion: (1) first myocardial infarct; (2) aged <70 years; (3) non-complicated infarct; (4) low risk effort-test. Blood samples were taken 60–80 days after infarction. Tissue factor, total and free-TFPI were measured. A 4-year follow-up was carried out. Death, unstable angina and new myocardial infarction were considered as poor prognosis. Results: There were no statistical differences in tissue factor/TFPI levels between patients and controls. Total-TFPI showed statistical correlation with total cholesterol (r=0.59), triglycerides (r=0.34), LDL-cholesterol (r=0.40) and Lipoprotein(a) (r=0.48). Patients with high levels of cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides showed elevated levels of total-TFPI with no differences in free-TFPI. During follow-up, 8 patients showed poor prognosis. There were no statistical associations between tissue factor/TFPI levels and prognosis. Conclusions: After acute myocardial infarction, we did not find any differences in the tissue factor/TFPI system between controls and patients. The tissue factor/TFPI system showed little value as a prognostic factor.