Plasma cortisol and prognosis of patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Aims: Cortisol is associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients with chronic heart failure and in the general population. The negative predictive effect of cortisol on survival in non-diabetic patients who have suffered an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has been shown. We aimed to determine the prognostic significance of cortisol in a general group of AMI patients, as this is not well known.

Aldosterone predicts major adverse cardiovascular events in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Objective: Aldosterone is associated with increased mortality in chronic heart failure patients and correlates with adverse outcomes after an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in smaller cohorts. We evaluated the prognostic significance of plasma aldosterone in a large cohort of post-AMI patients in relation to major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE).

Design: A prospective cohort study.