Apolipoprotein A and prognosis after myocardial infarction in non-diabetic men.

The implications of apolipoproteins A-I and A-II for the prognosis of 178 non-diabetic men after acute myocardial infarction were studied. During a mean follow-up period of 4 years, one or more "coronary events" (nonfatal myocardial infarction, fatal coronary heart disease, coronary artery bypass graft surgery, deterioration of exercise ECG) were recorded in 37 patients. Serum levels of apolipoproteins A-I and A-II did not discriminate between patients with and without coronary events. This applied to the entire sample as much as to subgroups defined by presence or absence of interventions (coronary artery bypass graft surgery, long-term therapy with beta-blockers or lipid-lowering drugs). We conclude that coronary events in the first years after myocardial infarction cannot be predicted by apolipoprotein A-I or A-II levels.