Background

Several studies have shown an association of serum leptin levels with cardiovascular diseases. The present study was undertaken to assess levels of serum leptin in patients presenting with acute ST segment elevation myocardial infarction.

Methods and results

Ninety-four consecutive patients presenting with acute ST segment elevation myocardial infarction were studied and 46 controls were taken from patients who presented with chest pain but had no history of myocardial infarction in the past. There were 59 patients with anterior wall infarction and 31 had inferior wall infarction and in 4 it was a combination of anterior and inferior wall infarction. The serum leptin levels in patients with myocardial infarction was 6.51+/-6.76 ng/ml versus 2.86+/-2.22 ng/ml in controls. In the multivariate analysis the odds ratio for serum leptin with myocardial infarction was 1.45 with a 95% confidence interval of 1.2 to 1.8.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that serum leptin level is elevated in patients with acute ST segment elevation myocardial infarction.