Plasma lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 mass is elevated in STEMI compared to non-STEMI patients but does not discriminate between myocardial infarction and non-cardiac chest pain

Abstract Background Plasma lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A 2 (Lp-PLA 2 ) mass predicts future cardiovascular events in the non-acute setting. We tested the extent to which Lp-PLA 2 is elevated in patients with acute coronary syndrome. Methods A total of 231 consecutive patients referred for acute chest pain participated. Of this number, 144 were diagnosed with myocardial infarction (MI; 100 were classified as MI with ST-elevation (STEMI) and 44 as MI without ST-elevation (non-STEMI)). Eighty-seven patients had non-cardiac chest pain. Plasma Lp-PLA 2 mass was measured using turbidimetric immunoassay. Results Lp-PLA 2 mass was not different between MI patients and patients with non-cardiac chest pain (231 ± 72 μg/l vs.243 ± 88 μg/l, p  = 0.29), and did not relate to MI in age- and sex-adjusted logistic regression analysis (odds ratio per SD increment, 0.92 (95% CI, 0.69–1.23), p  = 0.58). However, Lp-PLA 2 mass was elevated in STEMI compared to non-STEMI patients (246 ± 73 vs. 198 ± 58 ng/ml, p p 2 ( r  = 0.183, p  = 0.034). Conclusions In the acute setting, plasma Lp-PLA 2 mass is not elevated in MI patients, although Lp-PLA 2 mass appears to relate to the severity of myocardial damage.