Endothelin-1 is elevated in heart failure (HF) and after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and gives prognostic information on mortality. Another part of its precursor, C-terminal pro–endothelin-1 (CT-proET-1), is more stable in circulation and ex vivo. We investigated the cardiovascular prognostic value post-AMI of CT-proET-1 and compared it to N-terminal pro–B-type natriuretic peptide (NTproBNP), a marker of death and HF.

We measured plasma CT-proET-1 and NTproBNP in 983 consecutive post-AMI patients (721 men, mean age 65.0 ± [SD] 12.2 years), 3 to 5 days after chest pain onset.

There were 101 deaths and 49 readmissions with HF during follow-up (median 343, range 0-764 days). C-terminal pro–endothelin-1 was raised in patients with death or HF compared to survivors (median [range] [pmol/L], 119.0 [14.0-671.0] vs 73.0 [4.6-431.0], P < .0001). Using a Cox proportional hazards logistic model, log CT-proET-1 (HR 6.82) and log NTproBNP (HR 2.62) were significant independent predictors of death or HF (along with age, sex, history of AMI, and therapy with β-blockers). The areas under the receiver operating curve for CT-proET-1, NTproBNP, and the logistic model with both markers were 0.76, 0.76, and 0.81 respectively. Findings were similar for death and HF as individual end points.

The endothelin system is known to be activated post AMI. C-terminal pro–endothelin-1 is a powerful predictor of adverse outcome, along with NTproBNP. CT-proET-1 may represent a clinically useful marker of prognosis after AMI.