Plasma Levels of Individual Free Fatty Acids in Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction

Plasma levels of individual free fatty acids (FFA) have been determined in 24 patients with acute myocardial infarction on admission and repeatedly during the first 24 hours at the hospital. Thirty‐six patients admitted on the same criteria but in whom the diagnosis of myocardial infarction was later discarded served as a control group. There were no differences in the plasma FFA levels between the two groups. The intraindividual variation in plasma FFA during the first day was large, the mean difference between the highest and lowest value in each individual being 50% of the level on admission. There was a general tendency for the FFA concentration to be higher in the more severely ill patients. No association between high plasma FFA levels and arrhythmias was observed. On the contrary, the three patients who developed ventricular tachycardia had exceptionally low FFA levels before the occurrence of arrhythmia.