Relationship between vascular endothelial growth factor and left ventricular dimension in patients with acute myocardial infarction

Background: Although vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is elevated in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), the clinical significance of its elevation remains unclear. The present study was designed to determine the relationship between VEGF and left ventricular dimension in patients with AMI. Methods and results: Plasma VEGF levels were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay daily for one week and then weekly for four weeks in 38 patients with AMI (65.4. ±. 1.7 years). Left ventriculography was performed at 14 days, 6 months, and 2 years after the onset of AMI. Plasma VEGF levels were significantly elevated and reached a peak on day 6. Peak plasma VEGF levels positively correlated with both end-diastolic and end-systolic volume indices at 14 days after the onset of AMI. When patients with AMI were divided into two groups according to plasma VEGF levels on admission, left ventricular volume indices were higher in the high VEGF group than in the low VEGF group at the subacute phase of AMI (14 days). These differences were no longer present in the chronic phase of AMI. Conclusion: Plasma VEGF levels were increased in patients with AMI, and peak levels were associated with left ventricular volume indices in the subacute phase, suggesting an important role of endogenous VEGF in the left ventricular dimension in patients with AMI.