High FGF-23 linked to recurrent cardiac events after ACS

(HealthDay)—Elevated fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23) is associated with increased risk of recurrent major cardiovascular (CV) events in patients after an acute coronary syndrome (ACS), according to a study published online April 18 in JAMA Cardiology.

Brian A. Bergmark, M.D., from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and colleagues measured C-terminal FGF-23 in plasma samples for 4,947 patients within 30 days of ACS and with one additional CV risk factor in the Stabilization of Plaques Using Darapladib-Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction 52 trial.

The researchers found that FGF-23 concentration in the top quartile was independently linked to an increased risk of CV death or heart failure hospitalization and its individual components after multivariable adjustment for baseline clinical characteristics and established biomarkers (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 2.35). There was also a correlation for increased FGF-23 concentration with an increased risk of all-cause mortality (adjusted HR, 2.27) and CV death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (adjusted HR, 1.42). The correlation between FGF-23 and CV risk, including CV death or heart failure, was attenuated in women versus men (P < 0.001 for interaction).

"In patients stabilized after ACS, elevated FGF-23 concentrations may be associated with recurrent major CV events and all-cause mortality," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry, including GlaxoSmithKline, which funded the study.

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