Growth differentiation factor-15 and all-cause mortality in patients with suspected myocardial infarction

Abstract Background To assess the prognostic performance of Growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) concentrations in unselected patients presenting with suspected acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and adjudication based on high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn). Methods and results In an ongoing prospective multicenter diagnostic study, consecutive patients presenting with suspected AMI to the emergency department and available GDF-15 and hs-cTnT concentrations were included. Adjudication of AMI was performed central by two independent cardiologists using all available clinical information including cardiac imaging and serial hs-cTn concentrations. Overall, 718 patients were included, with 23% (162/718) having an adjudicated diagnosis of AMI. The cumulative incidence of death within 2 years was 19% in patients with AMI (30 deaths in 162 patients) versus 5% in patients without AMI (25 deaths in 556 patients; P P P  = 0.096). A GDF-15 cutoff of ≤886 ng/L predicted 2-year survival in 37% (203/556) of non-AMI patients and had 100% sensitivity (95% CI 86–100%) for 2-year death. Conclusions GDF-15 concentrations at emergency department presentation have a high predictive accuracy for all-cause death in patients with suspected AMI and allow the identification of a large proportion of AMI patients with very low mortality risk.