Are Electrolyte Imbalances Related to 3-Month Outcomes in Patients with an Acute Myocardial Infarction? A Cohort Study from Iran

Background: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Contradictory findings are available regarding the effects of changes in electrolytes in patients with an AMI.

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the effect of electrolyte changes on the 3-month outcome.

Methods: A total of 168 patients with AMI managed at Dr. Heshmat Hospital in Rasht, Iran, were investigated in this prospective cohort study by a census method. AMI was confirmed by biochemical, electrocardiographic, or angiographic evidence. Electrolyte serum levels, demographic characteristics, myocardial infarction type, ejection fraction (EF), and underlying diseases were collected in a checklist in the early hours after each patient entered the hospital. Information about patients' outcomes and echocardiographic data were collected after three months. All data were analyzed using SPSS software version 22.

Results: Out of 162 patients with AMI, most (44%) were aged between 50 to 59 years, and 76.8% were men. In all models, the odds of non-recovery remained constant with increasing electrolytes. On uni-variable and multi-variable models, sodium showed a significant positive association with initial EF (unstandardized coefficient = 0.8 in both uni-variable and multi-variable models, approximately), and phosphorus displayed a significant negative association with initial EF (unstandardized coefficient = -4.5 in both uni-variable and multi-variable models, approximately). There was no significant association of electrolytes with follow-up EF in all models.

Conclusions: In this study, the phosphorus and sodium serum levels were significantly related to the initial EF. However, none of the studied electrolytes impacted the 3-month outcome in AMI patients.