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(Circulation. 2003;107:e9020.)
© 2003 American Heart Association, Inc.

Cardiovascular News

Ruth SoRelle, MPH

Circulation Newswriter

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

Mark of Inflammation

A single test that demonstrates higher than normal levels of serum inflammatory markers—particularly elevated levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6)—was associated with an increased risk of congestive heart failure in elderly people who had not previously had a heart attack, according to researchers from the Framingham Heart Study, Boston University in Boston, Mass, the National Institute on Aging, and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute in Bethesda, MD, in a report in this week’s issue of Circulation (Circulation. 2003;107:1486–1491).

The authors led by Ramachandran S. Vasan, MD, of the Framingham Heart Study, investigated the relationship between various serum markers of inflammation in 732 elderly Framingham Study subjects in whom the mean age was 78 years. Approximately two-thirds of the subjects were women and none had previously had a myocardial infarction or congestive heart failure. The serum markers for which the subjects were tested included serum IL-6, C-reactive protein, and spontaneous production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha by peripheral blood monocular cells.

On follow-up that lasted for a mean of 5.2 years, 56 subjects had developed congestive heart failure. When the findings of serum marker tests were evaluated, all findings of elevated serum markers for inflammation were associated with increased risk of congestive heart failure. The authors wrote: "Our findings suggest that elevated inflammatory markers constitute important risk factors for CHF [congestive heart failure] in elderly women and men. Although prior reports have emphasized the importance of inflammation in determining prognosis of people with established CHF, our data suggest that the . . . [Full Text of this Article]