Relationship between Heart-Type Fatty Acid-Binding Protein Levels and the Risk of Death in Patients with Serious Condition on Arrival at the Emergency Department

OBJECTIVE: Although heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP) is a cardiac marker useful for early diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), few data are available on its prognostic value. The objective of this study is to clarify the prognostic value of H-FABP in patients with a serious condition. METHODS AND PATIENTS: We conducted a prospective study of 617 patients who presented to the emergency department with a serious condition. The H-FABP levels on arrival at the emergency department were divided into four groups using their quartiles. The endpoint was death from any causes in-hospital. RESULTS: H-FABP ranged from 1.2 to 2,300 ng/ml, with a median of 19.9 ng/ml, a 25%-value of 6.7 ng/ml and 75%-value of 54.0 ng/ml. The unadjusted rate of the mortality increased progressively with increasing H-FABP quartile point (11% for quartile-I, 22% for quartile-II, 36% for quartile-III, and 38% for quartile-IV; p<0.001). After adjustment for age, gender, systolic blood pressure and the presence or absence of cardiovascular disease, H-FABP was the independent factor to predict the mortality. CONCLUSION: H-FABP has proven to be an independent factor for prognosis in patients with a serious condition on arrival at the emergency department.