HOMOCYSTEINE: A NEWER AND NOVEL INDEPENDENT RISK FACTOR AND CARDIAC MARKER FOR ACUTE MI
Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate homocysteine levels in myocardial infarction (MI) patients (troponin-T positive) and normal healthy individuals (troponin-T negative) subsequently to make comparisons with other cardiac markers. Methods: A cross-sectional study consisting of 172 subjects involving 100 patients of non-diabetic MI and 72 apparently healthy controls with no history of diabetes and/or MI was done between December 2017 and May 2018. The diagnosis of MI was established with electrocardiogram findings and troponin-T estimation. Blood samples were collected and processed for the estimation of homocysteine, troponin-T, creatine kinase MB fraction (CK-MB), and lactate dehydrogenase. Results: In the present study, a total of 100 troponin-T positive cases and 72 troponin-T negative as controls were studied. The mean age in the cases was 62.15±7.75 years and in the controls was 61.49±8.35 years (p=0.592). The mean value of homocysteine in the troponin-T positive group was 30.56±19.79 μmol/l and in the troponin-T negative group was 10.28±4.03 μmol/l (p<0.0001). Homocysteine was deranged in 98% troponin-T positive group and in only 18.06% in troponin-T negative group. The difference was statistically significant (p<0.0001). No significant correlation was found between homocysteine and CK-MB and LDH in troponin-T positive and negative patients individually. Conclusion: This study indicated that homocysteine is sensitive cardiac markers for the diagnosis of MI but shows no specific correlation with other cardiac markers and thus it should be predicted independently.