Endothelial progenitor cells have high predictive value for ventricular remodeling after percutaneous coronary intervention in acute myocardial infarction

OBJECTIVE: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and the following heart failure are main causes of disability and death across the globe. Endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) levels are linked to AMI. Herein, we assessed the predictive value of EPCs for post-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) ventricular remodeling in AMI patients. METHODS: This study retrospectively analyzed 215 AMI patients receiving PCI, who were then categorized into the VR ( n = 66) and N-VR ( n = 149) groups as per whether they developed post-PCI ventricular remodeling. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-pro-BNP), and EPCs were measured. The correlations of LVEF and NT-pro-BNP with EPCs, the predictive value of EPCs for post-PCI ventricular remodeling, and the risk of post-PCI ventricular remodeling in AMI patients with different EPC levels were analyzed by Spearman's analysis, receiver-operating characteristic curve, and Kaplan-Meier curve. RESULTS: LVEF and EPC levels were lower and NT-pro-BNP level was higher in the VR group than the N-VR group. EPC levels in the class III-IV group were lower than those in the class I-II group. EPC levels in AMI patients correlated positively with LVEF ( r = 0.683) and negatively with NT-pro-BNP ( r = -0.761). EPCs exhibited high predictive value for post-PCI ventricular remodeling in AMI [area under the curve (AUC) of 0.822] and anterior MI (AUC = 0.941) patients. AMI and anterior MI patients with low EPC levels had a higher risk of post-PCI ventricular remodeling. CONCLUSION: Low EPC levels have high predictive value for post-PCI ventricular remodeling, and increase the risk of post-PCI ventricular remodeling in AMI patients.