European journal of preventive cardiologyOct 4, 2017

Long-lasting stress hormone system activation after a sudden heart attack in the GENESIS-PRAXY group

Circadian Biology Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Updated Apr 3, 2026

Abstract

Persistently elevated late-night salivary cortisol levels above 2.92 nmol/l were observed in 32.0% of patients post-acute coronary syndrome.

Elevated late-night salivary cortisol is linked with a history of previous acute coronary syndrome (24.2% among those with elevated levels compared to 13.3% without).
Higher rates of peripheral vascular disease were associated with elevated late-night salivary cortisol (13.1% vs 3.8%).
Smoking prevalence was higher in patients with elevated cortisol levels (46.5% vs 32.9%).
Patients with elevated late-night salivary cortisol had higher hemoglobin A1c values (6.1 ± 2.9 vs 5.6 ± 3.0).
Lower high-density lipoprotein levels were observed in those with elevated cortisol (0.86 ± 0.50 vs 0.94 ± 0.53).
No significant differences were found in psychiatric symptom scores, acute coronary syndrome severity, mortality, or rehospitalization rates at 12 months.

Simplified

Background Glucocorticoid excess has been linked with cardiovascular disease. Little is known about the long-term cortisol response in patients after acute coronary syndrome. Design The objective of this study was to describe the distribution of salivary cortisol in the post-acute phase of acute coronary syndrome and to describe the association of late-night salivary cortisol with cardiovascular risk factors. Methods We used late-night salivary cortisol measurements post-discharge to estimate hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity in 309 patients aged 18-55 years enrolled in the GENESIS-PRAXY study from January 2009-April 2013. We evaluated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity and its association with hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, smoking, family history, prior acute coronary syndrome, psychiatric diseases, acute coronary syndrome severity, as well as mortality and rate of rehospitalization at 12 months. Results Persistently elevated late-night salivary cortisol>2.92 nmol/l was seen in 99 (32.0%) patients: within the range of what may be seen in Cushing's disease. Elevated late-night salivary cortisol was associated with previous acute coronary syndrome (13.3% vs 24.2%, p = 0.02), peripheral vascular disease (3.8% vs 13.1%, p = 0.002), and smoking (32.9% vs 46.5% p = 0.02). Elevated late-night salivary cortisol was associated with higher hemoglobin A1c values (5.6 ± 3.0 vs 6.1 ± 2.9, p = 0.008) and lower high density lipoprotein values (0.94 ± 0.53 vs 0.86 ± 0.50, p = 0.01). There were no differences in psychiatric symptom scores, acute coronary syndrome severity or mortality, and rate of rehospitalization at 12 months. Conclusions Many patients post-acute coronary syndrome have prolonged, marked activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Late-night salivary cortisol co-associates with several cardiovascular risk factors. Further studies are needed to confirm the exact role of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease.

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Long-lasting stress hormone system activation after a sudden heart attack in the GENESIS-PRAXY group

Abstract

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