On-admission serum uric acid predicts outcomes after acute myocardial infarction

Some studied have suggested that serum uric acid predicts coronary heart disease (CHD) (2). However, prospective epidemiological studies have reported apparently conflicting findings, with several studies reporting positive associations only among women (3,4). Wheeler et al (5) reported that serum uric acid levels were unlikely to predict CHD, and this factor was unlikely to be a major determinant of the disease in the general population. Uric acid is an “antioxidant,” a free radical scavenger, and a chelator of transitional metal ions, which are converted to poorly reactive forms (6). Temporary hyperuricemia may afford the beneficial antioxidant effects of urate (7). Depending on its level, serum urate may exhibit protective and deleterious effects on stroke outcomes. More patients with low (<280 μM) and high (>410 μM) urate levels had poor functional outcomes (36% and 27%, respectively), compared to those with urate levels between 340 and 410 μM (14%) (8).