Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been identified as a cardiovascular (CV) risk factor. The potential of OSA promoting the synthesis of CV biomarkers in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is unknown. Ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) has been identified as a specific CV biomarker. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of IMA as a potential biomarker for determining the impact of OSA in ACS patients. A total of 925 patients (15.5% women, age: 59 years, body mass index: 28.8 kg/m2) from the ISAACC study (NCT01335087) were included. During hospitalization for ACS, a sleep study for OSA diagnosis was performed and blood samples extraction for IMA determination were obtained. IMA values were significantly higher in severe OSA (median (IQR), 33.7 (17.2-60.3) U/L) and moderate (32.8 (16.9-58.8) U/L) than in mild/no OSA (27.7 (11.8-48.6) U/L) (p = 0.002). IMA levels were very weakly related to apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) as well as hospital and intensive care unit stay, although they only maintained a significant relationship with days of hospital stay after adjusting for sex, age and BMI (ß = 0.410, p = 0.013). The results of the present study would suggest a potentially weaker role of OSA in the synthesis of the CV risk biomarker IMA in patients with ACS than in primary prevention.
Keywords: acute coronary syndrome; biomarkers; cardiovascular risk; ischemia-modified albumin; obstructive sleep apnea.