A comparison of homocysteine, troponin, cobalamin and folate status in acute myocardial infarction patients and healthy subjects: A case–control study

Abstract

Introduction: Homocysteine (HCY), troponin, cardiac markers, folic acid and Vitamin B12 are known as the potential biomarkers for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) diagnosis. This study was designed to evaluate these markers as candidate biomarkers in the diagnosis, prognosis and prevention of AMI. Materials and Methods: This study was carried out on 40 AMI patients and 40 healthy subjects. After taking blood, HCY level was measured by an enzymatic, troponin and Vitamin B12, while the level of folic acid was determined by the radioimmunoassay method. In addition, the cardiac enzyme markers and lipid profile were measured by commercial kits and spectrophotometric method. Results: The results showed that patients' HCY levels were significantly more than the control group. Furthermore, the level of troponin was significantly different in the two groups (P = 0.0001), while serum levels of cardiac enzyme markers were significantly higher in patients (P 0.05). A positive correlation was identified between HCY with cholesterol (r = 0.32, P < 0.04) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (r = 0.38, P < 0.02) in the patients. Conclusion: Elevated fasting HCY and troponin concentration are related to the lower circulation of folate and Vitamin B12 levels in the patients. The deficiency of these vitamins plays a role as an independent factor in HCY metabolism. As our findings revealed, despite a decrease in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, the level of LDL-C increased in the patients. It can be inferred that merging enzymatic and non-enzymatic biomarkers might be more valuable in the diagnosis of AMI.

Keywords

• cobalamin
• folate
• homocysteine
• myocardial infarction
• troponin