Publication: sex differences in leukocyte profile in STEMI patients

Even though our knowledge of the pathophysiology of acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) has substantially increased over the past decades and inflammation showed to be an important player, the inflammatory mechanisms after STEMI, and especially potential sex differences, remain, to be further determined.

In this article published in Nature Scientific Reports, Irene van Blokland, Hilde Groot, et al. studied leukocyte profiles in men and women presenting with STEMI.

Main findings:

  • At admission for STEMI, women presented with higher lymphocyte count, lymphocyte percentages and lymphocyte to monocyte ratio (LMR).
  • Men presented with higher percentages of monocytes and eosinophils.
  • Higher LMR was associated with smaller infarct size and decreased one-year mortality risk and could be used as a biomarker to predict outcome.