Background: White blood cell (WBC) indices are strongly associated with cardiovascular disease, but data on the prognostic values of these parameters in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) are sparse. The current study aimed to investigate the relationship between baseline WBC indices levels and the incidence of heart failure (HF) in ACS patients after PCI and explore the predictive values over a 2-year follow-up period.
Methods: A total of 416 consecutive ACS patients treated with PCI were enrolled and received a median of 27.7 months follow-up. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were performed.
Results: Baseline lymphocyte (LYMPH) count, eosinophil (EO) count and eosinophil percentage (EO %) were higher in patients who experienced HF over a 2-year follow-up. In multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis, LYMPH count, EO count and EO % were independently associated with the occurrence of HF (hazard ratio [HR] = 12.876, P = 0.025; HR = 16.625, P = 0.004; HR = 1.196, P = 0.031, respectively). The area under the ROC curve of baseline EO count predicting the occurrence of HF in ACS patients following PCI was 0.625 (P = 0.037). For patients aged 60 years and above, who had PCI or history of coronary artery bypass grafting, the higher EO count, the higher the risk of HF.
Conclusion: Elevated baseline LYMPH count, EO count and EO % were independently associated with the incidence of HF in ACS patients following PCI, suggesting that WBC indices might be available, simple, and cost-efficient biomarkers with predictive value, especially for patients aged more than 60 years.
Keywords: heart failure, acute coronary syndrome, lymphocytes, eosinophils, independent predictive factors