Impact of elevated red cell distribution width on patients with acute myocardial infarction

Background: Red cell distribution width (RDW) is an important parameter that has a critical impact on the severity of coronary artery disease, especially on that of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Objective: This study was aimed to determine the effect of elevated RDW on the outcome of AMI. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective, case–control study conducted on two groups of participants; the first group (cases) comprised 87 patients suffering from AMI, while the second one (controls) comprised an equal number of patients having stable angina. Matching of controls to patients was done according to age (within 5 years) and gender. The study extended from the beginning of October 2017 to the end of March 2018. Participants in both groups were collected from Al-Sadr Teaching Hospital and Merjan Medical City at Iraqi Najaf and Babylon Governorates, respectively. RDW values were determined by the use of hematological auto-analyzer. Results: Statistically significant differences found between the study groups regarding RDW (P = 0.0001, odds ratio [OR] = 9.481, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 5.127–17.535) and cardiac troponin I (cTnI) (P = 0.0001, OR = 1.325, 95% CI = 1.109–1.584). Strong positive correlation was found between RDW and cTnI (r = 0.272, P = 0.0001). Other measured parameters which are age, gender, history of hypertension, diabetes and smoking, body mass index, hemoglobin (Hb), packed cell volume, mean cell volume, and mean cell Hb concentration all showed no significant differences between the study groups regarding them. Conclusion: RDW owns substantial diagnostic and prognostic value that can aid in the management of AMI patients