IL-6, IL-1β and MDA correlate with Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) risk score in patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome.

Background: Inflammation plays a significant role in the pathophysiology of Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) but is not included in current risk stratification.

Objective: To determine the association between Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) risk score and inflammatory biomarkers in the ACS, including unstable angina (UA), non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), and ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). We hypothesized that including inflammatory biomarkers could add prognostic value to the TIMI risk score.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, serum levels of interleukins (IL)-6 and IL-1β and MDA (malondialdehyde) were quantified by ELISA and colorimetry, respectively , patients with ACS (n = 48; 31.3% with UA, 33.3% with NSTEMI, and 35.4% with STEMI) and healthy controls (n = 43). We assessed the TIMI scores in the first 24 h after symptom onset.

Results: The results showed that patients with ACS had significantly higher levels (p<0.05) of the inflammatory biomarkers IL-6, IL-1β, and MDA compared to the control group. However, we found no significant differences in IL-6, IL-1β, and MDA levels among the patients with ACS according to their classification as UA, NSTEMI, and STEMI. Positive correlations were observed between TIMI and IL-6 (r=0.68), IL-1β (r= 0.53), and MDA (r=0.58) in patients with UA and between TIMI and IL-1β (r= 0.62) in STEMI patients.

Conclusion: These data suggest the presence of a pro-inflammatory profile in patients with ACS as well as positive correlations between TIMI scores and the inflammatory biomarkers IL-6, IL-1β, and MDA in patients with UA and between TIMI scores and IL-1β in patients with STEMI. Combining inflammatory biomarkers with the TIMI risk score could provide better insight into the processes involved in ACS.