[Immunoglobulin E and acute myocardial infarct]

The authors examined repeatedly the immunoglobulin E (IgE) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) level in patients hospitalized on account of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). In a group of 33 patients aged 40-59 years (25 men, and 8 women) the authors investigated the case-history for hay fever, allergic rhinitis, eczema, allergy to grass, sensitizing household dust or domestic animals. The authors assessed also the presence of asthma and eczema in parents or relatives. Furthermore the authors investigated the relationship of different components of the immunological profile in relation to IgE and AMI. They found that in AMI the IgE serum level rises or is high on the 5th day after acute myocardial ischaemia. On the 10th and 21st day of hospitalization the IgE level declined and by the end of the third week it was close to baseline values of 300 U/ml or less. The IgG level displayed an almost indirect relation, i.e. during the first days it was close to the borderline of normal values, while it increased significantly on the 21st day of hospitalization. The rise of the IgG level is a response of the immune system to recovery of the necrotic myocardial mass. Consistent with some authors abroad, the authors found that patients with AMI with a high initial IgE serum level have a better prognosis quo ad vitam.