Presence of metabolic abnormalities in patients with acute myocardial infarction: at the onset and after recovery. A pilot study.

The diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction is traditionally made based on characteristic clinical picture with typical electrocardiographic and serum enzymes findings. However, these findings could not give us any insight into the disease processes and the metabolic abnormalities associated with AMI. A tendency to hyperglycaemia, for which the lack of insulin was blamed,1 and the possibility of a link with hyperuricemia have been reported.2,3 Several studies reported a close association between high serum lipids and AMI, although a cause and effect relationship remain controversial.4,5 Much emphasis had been given to the role of mineral metabolism when it was reported that cities with the hardest water had a lower mortality rate from coronary heart disease compared to places with soft water.6,7 However, the literature on follow-up studies in acute myocardial infarction is meagre. It was, therefore, our interest to study, some relevant biochemical parameters in this disorder at the onset and three weeks after the event to find out the presence of any association. Search for a stable and dependable parameter which is most positively correlated with AMI was also sought.