Diagnostic and prognostic value of autoantibodies against β1‑adrenoreceptors in patients with heart failure following acute myocardial infarction: A 5‑year prospective study

A number of studies have suggested that autoantibodies against β1‑adrenoreceptors (β1R‑AAbs) have an important role in pathophysiological processes of heart failure. The aim of the present study was to determine whether β1R‑AAbs are implicated in cardiac dysfunction following acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and their association with prognosis. A total of 33 cases with systolic heart failure (SHF), 49 with diastolic heart failure (DHF) and 44 with normal heart function following AMI were recruited. β1R‑AAbs were detected by ELISA and major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) were recorded during the 5‑year follow‑up. The positive rate of β1R‑AAbs in the SHF group (45.5%) was significantly higher compared with that in the DHF (22.4%; P<0.05) and normal (15.9%; P<0.05) groups. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve for the diagnosis of SHF was 0.630 (95% CI: 0.514‑0.747, P=0.026). During a median follow‑up period of 51.0±15.4 months, the positive rate of β1R‑AAbs in the MACEs group was significantly higher compared with that in the non‑MACEs group (P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that the left ventricular ejection fraction and diabetes were independent predictors of 5‑year MACEs following AMI, whereas β1R‑AAbs were not. Kaplan‑Meier analysis revealed that the cumulative MACEs‑free survival rate was the lowest in the SHF group, followed by the DHF and normal groups (P<0.05). Therefore, β1R‑AAbs were indicated to be of value for early diagnosis of SHF after AMI but not as independent predictors for the prognosis of patients with AMI.