The aim of this study was to assess the plasma levels of VEGF and interleukin-10 in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and stable chronic angina (SA) and correlate the values with traditional CHD risk factors, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and established inflammatory marker hsCRP. Fifty patients with AMI and 30 with SA were enrolled. IL-10 levels in AMI patients were lower than in SA patients (9.81 +/- 5.0 versus 22.63 +/- 8.38 pg/ml, p < 0.00001). IL-10 levels were lower in AMI and SA patients with multiple CHD risk factors than in patients < or = 2 risk factors (SA: 19.48 +/- 2.94 versus 23.77 +/- 2.94 pg/ml; p < 0.005; AMI: 8.64 +/- 4.43 versus 11.85 +/- 4.09 pg/ml; p < 0.05) and patients with AMI and single-vessel than with multi-vessel disease (8.45 +/- 3.86 versus 10.72 +/- 3.95 pg/ml; p < 0.05). VEGF levels in AMI patients were higher than in SA patients (312.0 +/- 67.0 versus 221.0 + /- 50 pg/ml; p < 0.005). VEGF levels were higher in AMI patients with multi-vessel disease than in patients with single-vessel disease (348.74 +/- 45.23 versus 252.05 +/- 21.12 pg/ml; p < 0.005), with LVEF <40% and Killip class III-IV than in patients with LVEF >40% and Killip class I-II (338.8 +/- 51.59 versus 271.8 +/- 50.51 pg/ml; p < 0.005 and 340.71 +/- 52.94 versus 275.45 +/- 49.48 pg/ml; p < 0.05, respectively) and with chest pain > 6 h versus < 6 h (330.03 +/- 58.58 versus 292 +/- 57.53 pg/ml; p < 0.05). HsCRP concentrations in AMI patients were higher than in SA (1.24 +/- 0.47 versus 0.42 +/- 0.14; p < 0.0001). HsCRP was correlated with IL-10 (r = -0.413; p < 0.05) and VEGF (r = 0.319; p < 0.05). Acute myocardial infarction is associated with elevated VEGF levels and decreased concentration of IL-10. There is a significant correlation between levels of inflamatory markers and CHD risk factors and the function of the left ventricle on admission.