Unsaturated fatty acid composition in serum phospholipids in patients in the acute phase of myocardial infarction.

Background: Recent improvements in optimal cardiovascular therapy have questioned the beneficial effects of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) observed in previous studies.

Aims: We investigated the fatty acid (FA) composition in serum phospholipids in patients with an established acute phase of myocardial infarction (MI) and in high‑risk patients with stable atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Methods: We studied 83 patients hospitalized within 12 hours from the onset of the first clinical symptoms of MI. As a control group, we assessed 74 patients at high cardiovascular risk with an established stable atherosclerotic CVD treated at an outpatient cardiology clinic. Gas chromatography was used to evaluate the FA composition in serum phospholipids in both groups.

Results: The final analysis included 52 patients with acute MI and 74 controls. In both groups, saturated FAs constituted the largest fraction of serum phospholipid FAs (median, 1574.67 μmol/l), followed by n‑6 PUFAs (median, 1106.99 μmol/l). The levels of total saturated FAs, monounsaturated FAs, n‑6 PUFAs, as well as the ratio of n‑6 to n‑3 PUFAs significantly differed between groups. Palmitic acid constituted the largest fraction of serum phospholipids both in patients and controls (31.9% and 31.16%, respectively). In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, body mass index, low‑density lipoprotein cholesterol, aspartate aminotransferase, high‑sensitivity C‑reactive protein, and palmitoleic and eicosadienoic acids were independently associated with MI.

Conclusions: We showed major differences in the FA composition of serum phospholipids between patients with acute MI and high‑risk individuals with stable atherosclerotic CVD. Eicosadienoic and palmitoleic acids, apart from typical cardiovascular risk factors, were independently associated with MI.