Ramos, C.Napoleão, PatríciaSelas, MafaldaFreixo, CláudiaViegas-Crespo, Ana MariaCarmo, Miguel MotaFerreira, Rui CruzPinheiro, Teresa2017-10-272017-10-2720140278-0240PURE: 389789PURE UUID: e006894b-4389-48f0-a963-bc108beb5d3eresearchoutputwizard: 45685PubMed: 25110384WOS: 000338428000001Scopus: 84904654506http://hdl.handle.net/10362/24667The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the staff of Servico de Cardiologia, Hospital de Santa Marta, and Ms. Rute Pinheiro for the help with laboratory work. The study was financially supported by Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia, PIC/IC/82734/2007 Contract and SFRM/BPD/6308/2009 Grant, and by Liga dos Amigos do Hospital de Santa Marta.We examined the longitudinal changes of VEGF levels after percutaneous coronary intervention for predicting major adverse cardiac events (MACE) in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. VEGF was measured in 94 CAD patients' serum before revascularization, 1-month and 1-year after. Independently of clinical presentation, patients had lower VEGF concentration than a cohort of healthy subjects (median, IQ: 15.9, 9.0-264 pg/mL versus 419, 212-758 pg/mL; P < 0.001) at baseline. VEGF increased to 1-month (median, IQ: 276, 167-498 pg/mL; P < 0.001) and remained steady to 1-year (median, IQ: 320, 173-497 pg/mL; P < 0.001) approaching control levels. Drug eluting stent apposition and previous medication intake produced a less steep VEGF evolution after intervention (P < 0.05). Baseline VEGF concentration <40.8 pg/mL conveyed increased risk for MACE in a 5-year follow-up. Results reflect a positive role of VEGF in recovery and support its importance in CAD prognosis.588272engMOLECULAR-MECHANISMSSERUM-LEVELSVASCULAR-PERMEABILITYMOBILIZATIONENDOTHELIAL-GROWTH-FACTORANGIOGENESISDYSFUNCTIONARTERY-DISEASEFACTOR-ACLINICAL-APPLICATIONSjournal article10.1155/2014/135357