Elevated CA125 is associated with incident heart failure and increased mortality in patients with acute coronary syndrome

Background: Carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) is a mucin produced by serosal cells in response to mechanical and inflammatory stimuli. CA125 has emerged as prognostic biomarker in heart failure (HF) and correlates with markers of fluid overload, echocardiographic parameters and prognosis in HF patients. In patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), elevated CA125 is correlated with a higher risk of in-hospital HF. The relationship between CA125 and long-term prognosis in ACS patients has not previously been assessed. Purpose: The purpose of our study was to investigate if CA125 measured at the time of an acute coronary event is related to cardiac remodeling during the first year of follow-up and long-term risk for HF and death Methods: We measured CA125 in plasma within 24 hours of the acute event in 523 patients with acute myocardial infarction or unstable angina admitted to the Coronary Care Unit. Routine echocardiograms were performed in all participants. The primary outcomes were hospitalization with a diagnosis of heart failure or death during follow-up, identified through data from the Swedish Hospital Discharge Register and the Swedish Cause of Death Register. In a subgroup of 109 patients aged 75 years or above we assessed the relationships between baseline CA125 and echocardiographical parameters of cardiac structure and function at 1 year after the index ACS. Results: The median follow-up period was 27.3 months for incident HF and 39.5 months for mortality. In Cox proportional hazards models we found an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.51 (95% CI 1.08-2.12; p