MMP8 and acute myocardial infarction: Moreover, an increasing number of clinical epidemiological studies have also identified MMP8 as an independent risk factor for several cardiovascular diseases, such as coronary artery disease [41,42], unstable angina [43], ischemic stroke [44], unstable carotid plaques [45], acute myocardial infarction [41,46], and aortic aneurysm [47,48].