Twenty-Five-Year (1986-2011) Trends in the Incidence and Death Rates of Stroke Complicating Acute Myocardial Infarction

Background

The occurrence of a stroke after an acute myocardial infarction is associated with increased morbidity and mortality rates. However, limited data are available, particularly from a population-based perspective, about recent trends in the incidence and mortality rates associated with stroke complicating an acute myocardial infarction.The purpose of this study was to examine 25-year trends (1986-2011) in the incidence and in-hospital mortality rates of initial episodes of stroke complicating acute myocardial infarction.

Secular Trends in Incidence and 30-Day Case Fatality of Acute Pancreatitis in North Jutland County,Denmark: A Register-based Study from 1981-2000

Background: The incidence rate of acute pancreatitis has been reported as having increased during recent decades in Western countries. Reported mortality lies around 10% and has improved during the past 20 years. The incidence rate and 30-day case fatality rate of acute pancreatitis in North Jutland County, Denmark were examined for the period 1981 to 2000. Methods: Data were collected from the Hospital Discharge Registry of North Jutland County for the period 1981-2000. Sex- and age-standardized incidence rates and 30-day case fatality rate of a first attack of acute pancreatitis were calculated. Data on endoscopic procedures were assessed for the period 1992 to 2000 and on certain drugs for 1991 to 1999. Results: The incidence rate of acute pancreatitis in women increased from 17.1 per 100,000 person-years in 1981 (95% confidence interval (CI), 12.6-23.2) to 37.8 per 100,000 person-years in 2000 (95% CI, 31.0-46.1). The corresponding increase in men was from 18 per 100,000 person-years in 1981 (95% CI, 13.3-24.2) to 27.1 per 100,000 person-years in 2000 (95% CI, 21.5-34.3). The incidence rate of acute pancreatitis increased with age in both sexes. The overall 30-day case fatality rate was 7.5% (95% CI, 6.5-8.7) increasing with age, adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 6.4 (95% CI, 3.5-11.6) and decreased with time, adjusted OR = 0.7 (95% CI, 0.4-1.0). Conclusion: The incidence of acute pancreatitis has increased, and in women surpassed that in men in 1999 and 2000. Short-term prognosis has improved.     

Trends in Incidence of Hospitalized Acute Myocardial Infarction in the Cardiovascular Research Network (CVRN)

Background

Monitoring trends in cardiovascular events can provide key insights into the effectiveness of prevention efforts. Leveraging data from electronic health records provides a unique opportunity to examine contemporary, community-based trends in acute myocardial infarction hospitalizations.

A national Survey of Acute Myocardial Infarction and Ischaemia (SAMII) in the U.K.: characteristics, management and in-hospital outcome in women compared to men in patients under 70 years.

AIMS: To assess the clinical characteristics, management and outcome of women compared to men with acute myocardial infarction or ischaemia. DESIGN: A prospective clinical survey was made in a random sample of 94 District General Hospitals in the U.K. 1064 patients, <70 years of age, comprising six consecutive females and six consecutive males from each hospital, diagnosed on admission as acute coronary syndromes (myocardial infarction or myocardial ischaemia) were studied. Outcome measures included: admission and final diagnosis, time to delivery of care, inpatient management, complications and clinical outcome. RESULTS: Five hundred and three women and 561 men were admitted with a diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction or myocardial ischaemia. Women were older, waited longer between seeking and receiving advice, and much less likely to have infarction than men. After adjustment for age, diagnosis and past medical history there were no gender differences in initial and subsequent hospital management, in complications (recurrent ischaemia, arrhythmias, temporary pacing, heart failure), any routine procedure or outcome. Of all patients, 3.4% died in a District General Hospital, 12.2% were transferred to Specialist Cardiac Centres and 84.4% discharged home. Prophylactic medication on discharge was similar for men and women. CONCLUSION: After adjustment for age, diagnosis and past medical history, although women waited longer between seeking and receiving medical advice, in hospital their assessment, management, complications, outcome and follow-up arrangements were the same as for men. In hospital, management and outcomes were mainly influenced by age, diagnosis (infarction or ischaemia), a past history of coronary disease, but not by gender. This large, nationally representative, survey has found no evidence of important gender difference in the hospital management of acute ischaemic syndromes.     

Cardiogenic Shock Among Patients with and without Acute Myocardial Infarction in a Latin American Country: A Single-Institution Study

Background:Latin America has limited information about the full spectrum cardiogenic shock (CS) and its hospital outcome. This study sought to examine the temporal trends, clinical features and outcomes of patients with CS in a coronary care unit of single Mexican institution.Methods:This was a retrospective study of consecutive patients hospitalized with CS in a Mexican teaching hospital between 2006–2019. Patients were classified according to the presence or absence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI).Results:Of 22,747 admissions, 833 (3.7%) exhibited CS. Among patients with AMI (n = 12,438), 5% had AMI–CS, and in patients without AMI (n = 10,309), 2.3% developed CS (non-AMI–CS). Their median age was 63 years and 70.5% were men. Cardiovascular risk factors were more frequent among the AMI–CS group, whereas a history of heart failure was greater in non-AMI–CS patients (70.1%). In AMI-CS patients, the median delay time was 17.2 hours from the onset of AMI symptoms to hospital admission. Overall, the median left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was 30%. Patients with CS at admission showed end-organ dysfunction, evidenced by lactic acidosis, renal impairment, and elevated liver transaminases. Of the 620 AMI–CS patients, the main cause was left ventricular dysfunction in 71.3%, mechanical complications in 15.2% and right ventricular infarction in 13.5%. Among the 213 non-AMI–CS patients, valvular heart disease (49.3%) and cardiomyopathies (42.3%) were the most frequent etiologies. In-hospital all-cause mortality rates were 69.7% and 72.3% in the AMI–CS and non-AMI–CS groups, respectively. Among AMI–CS patients, renal dysfunction, diabetes, older age, depressed LVEF, absence of revascularization and the use of mechanical ventilation were independent predictors of in-hospital mortality. However, in the non-AMI–CS group, only low LVEF and high lactate levels proved significant.Conclusions:This study demonstrates differences in the epidemiology of CS compared to high-income countries; the high mortality reflects critically ill patients and the lack of contemporary effective therapies in the population studied.     

Differences in treatment and outcome of patients with acute myocardial infarction admitted to hospitals with compared to without departments of cardiology; results from the pooled data of the Maximal Individual Therapy in Acute Myocardial Infarction (MITRA 1+2) Registries and the Myocardial Infarction Registry (MIR).

AIMS: The specialty of the admitting physician may influence treatment and outcome in patients with acute myocardial infarction. METHODS AND RESULTS: The pooled data of three German acute myocardial infarction registries: the Maximal Individual Therapy in Acute Myocardial Infarction (MITRA) 1+2 studies and the Myocardial Infarction Registry (MIR) were analysed. Patients admitted to hospitals with departments of cardiology were compared to hospitals without such departments. A total of 24 814 acute myocardial infarction patients were included, 9020 (36%) patients at 91 (29.8%) hospitals with departments of cardiology and 15 794 (64%) at 214 (70.2%) hospitals without cardiology departments. There were only minor differences in patient characteristics and prevalence of concomitant diseases between the two types of hospital. The first electrocardiogram was more often diagnostic at hospitals with cardiology departments (71.8% vs 66.5%, P<0.001). Reperfusion therapy and adjunctive medical therapy, such as aspirin, beta-blockers and ACE-inhibitors were used more often at cardiology departments (all P -values <0.001), even after adjustment for confounding parameters. Treatment improved at both types of hospital over time. Admission to a hospital with a department of cardiology was independently associated with a lower hospital mortality (14.2% vs 15.4%, adjusted OR=0.91; 95%CI: 0.83-0.99). Additional logistic regression models showed that the higher use of reperfusion therapy and recommended concomitant medical therapy was responsible for most of the survival benefit at such hospitals. CONCLUSION: Treatment of acute myocardial infarction patients at hospitals with departments of cardiology was independently associated with a higher use of recommended therapy and a lower hospital mortality compared to hospitals without such departments.     

Analgesic Treatment in Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Double-blind Comparison of Ketobemidone + the Spasmolytic A29 (Ketogan®) and Morphine

The analgesic effect of ketobemidone hydrochloride + the spasmolytic component A29 (Ketogan®) and morphine hydrochloride was compared double-blindly in patients with suspect acute myocardial infarction. The test drugs were administered i.v. in an initial dose of 0.5 ml (2.5 mg Ketogan, 5 mg morphine) followed, if necessary, by additional injections of 0.25 ml. Altogether, 309 patients participated in the trial. The total comsumption of the test drugs showed that 5 mg Ketogan was equipotent with 10 mg of morphine. Treatment with Ketogan resulted in a significantly higher proportion of patients who were completely free of pain 15 and 30 min after the initial injection: 16% and 15% more, respectively, compared to morphine. Within 2 hours after the initial injection, approximately 15% of the patients in both treatment groups had reported nausea and about 7 % had vomited (patients who vomited or were nauseated before treatment were not included in this analysis). The frequency of other side-effects was low, with no differences between the two treatment groups. Morphine caused a greater reduction of the systolic blood pressure than Ketogan. The effect of both drugs on pulse rate and respiration was the same.     

Age-related differences in clinical characteristics, early outcomes and cardiac management of acute myocardial infarction in Japan: Lessons from the Tokai Acute Myocardial Infarction Study (TAMIS)

Recent data suggest substantial variations in the treatment strategies for patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) based on age. This study aimed to compare the management and early outcomes of AMI across age groups in Japan. Data from 13 acute care hospitals that were included in the Tokai Acute Myocardial Infarction Study sample were used. This is a retrospective study of all patients admitted to the hospitals with the diagnosis of AMI from 1995–1997. We abstracted the baseline and procedural characteristics from detailed chart reviews. Patients were stratified into four age categories: up to 64; 65–74; 75–84; and 85 or more years of age. A total of 966 patients were aged up to 64 years, 608 were 65–74 years, 365 were 75–84 years, and 79 were 85 or more years. The rates at which the treadmill test, coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention were performed decreased with advancing age (−14%, P  < 0.01; −55%, P  < 0.01; and −42%, P  < 0.01, respectively, for the up to 64-year-old vs 85-year-old or more groups). Thrombolytic therapy was less often prescribed in the older groups ( P  < 0.01). At discharge, aspirin, β-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, nitrates, calcium antagonists, and anti-hyperlipidemics were prescribed less often in the older groups ( P  < 0.01, <0.05, <0.01, <0.01, <0.01, <0.01, respectively), while diuretics were prescribed more often in the older groups ( P  < 0.01). Our results suggest that fewer elderly patients were under-treated and had a significantly higher risk of in-hospital mortality.     

Right Ventricular Dysfunction in Acute Myocardial Infarction Complicated by Cardiogenic Shock: A Hemodynamic Analysis of the Should We Emergently Revascularize Occluded Coronaries for Cardiogenic Shock (SHOCK) Trial and Registry

Background

The prevalence and significance of right ventricular dysfunction (RVD) in patients with cardiogenic shock due to acute myocardial infarction (AMI-CS) have not been well characterized. We hypothesized that RVD is common in AMI-CS and associated with worse clinical outcomes.

Zero-Flow Pressure Measured Immediately After Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction Provides the Best Invasive Index for Predicting the Extent of Myocardial Infarction at 6 Months: An OxAMI Study (Oxford Acute Myocardial Infarction)

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to define which measure of microvascular best predicts the extent of left ventricular (LV) infarction.BackgroundMicrovascular injury after ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is an important determinant of outcome. Several invasive measures of the microcirculation at primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) have been described. One such measure is zero-flow pressure (Pzf), the calculated pressure at which coronary flow would cease.MethodsIn 34 STEMI patients, Pzf, hyperemic microvascular resistance (hMR), and index of microcirculatory resistance (IMR) were derived using thermodilution flow/pressure and Doppler flow/pressure wire assessment of the infarct-related artery following PPCI. The extent of infarction was determined by blinded late gadolinium enhancement on cardiac magnetic resonance at 6 months post-PPCI. Infarction of ≥24% total LV mass was used as a categorical cutoff in receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis.ResultsPzf was superior to both hMR and IMR for predicting ≥24% infarction area under the curve: 0.94 for Pzf versus 0.74 for hMR (p = 0.04) and 0.54 for IMR (p = 0.003). Pzf ≥42 mm Hg was the optimal cutoff value, offering 100% sensitivity and 73% specificity. Patients with Pzf ≥42 mm Hg also had a lower salvage index (61.3 ± 8.1 vs. 44.4 ± 16.8, p = 0.006) and 6-month ejection fraction (62.4 ± 3.6 vs. 49.9 ± 9.6, p = 0.002). In addition, there were significant direct relationships between Pzf and troponin area under the curve (rho = 0.55, p = 0.002), final infarct mass (rho = 0.75, p < 0.0001), percentage of LV infarction and percent transmurality of infarction (rho = 0.77 and 0.74, respectively, p < 0.0001), and inverse relationships with myocardial salvage index (rho = −0.53, p = 0.01) and 6-month ejection fraction (rho = −0.73, p = 0.0001).ConclusionsPzf measured at the time of PPCI is a better predictor of the extent of myocardial infarction than hMR or IMR. Pzf may provide important prognostic information at the time of PPCI and merits further investigation in clinical studies with relevant outcome measures.     

The Prevalence of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and Outcomes in Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19—A Study Based on Data from the Polish National Hospital Register

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a serious complication of COVID-19. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of ARDS among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Poland as well as to characterize clinical outcomes in patients hospitalized with COVID-19-associated ARDS. This is a retrospective, secondary analysis of epidemiological data from 116,539 discharge reports on patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Poland between March and December 2020. The overall prevalence of ARDS was 3.6%, respectively 2.9% among females, and 4.4% among males (p < 0.001). Of the 4237 patients hospitalized with COVID-19-associated ARDS, 3764 deaths were reported (88.8%). Participants aged 60 years and over had more than three times higher odds of COVID-19-associated ARDS. Men had higher odds of COVID-19-associated ARDS than women (OR = 1.55; 95% CI: 1.45–1.65; p < 0.001). Patients with COVID-19 and diabetes had higher odds of COVID-19-associated ARDS (OR = 1.16; 95% CI: 1.03–1.30; p = 0.01). Among patients with COVID-19-associated ARDS, older age, male sex (OR = 1.27; 95% CI: 1.03–1.56; p = 0.02), and presence of cardiovascular diseases (OR = 1.26; 95% CI: 1.00–1.59; p = 0.048) were significantly associated with the risk of in-hospital death. Among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Poland, the prevalence of ARDS was relatively low, but the in-hospital mortality rate in patients with COVID-19-associated ARDS was higher compared to other EU countries.     

A Registry-Based Randomized Trial Comparing Radial and Femoral Approaches in Women Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: The SAFE-PCI for Women (Study of Access Site for Enhancement of PCI for Women) Trial

ObjectivesThis study sought to determine the effect of radial access on outcomes in women undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using a registry-based randomized trial.BackgroundWomen are at increased risk of bleeding and vascular complications after PCI. The role of radial access in women is unclear.MethodsWomen undergoing cardiac catheterization or PCI were randomized to radial or femoral arterial access. Data from the CathPCI Registry and trial-specific data were merged into a final study database. The primary efficacy endpoint was Bleeding Academic Research Consortium type 2, 3, or 5 bleeding or vascular complications requiring intervention. The primary feasibility endpoint was access site crossover. The primary analysis cohort was the subgroup undergoing PCI; sensitivity analyses were conducted in the total randomized population.ResultsThe trial was stopped early for a lower than expected event rate. A total of 1,787 women (691 undergoing PCI) were randomized at 60 sites. There was no significant difference in the primary efficacy endpoint between radial or femoral access among women undergoing PCI (radial 1.2% vs. 2.9% femoral, odds ratio [OR]: 0.39; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.12 to 1.27); among women undergoing cardiac catheterization or PCI, radial access significantly reduced bleeding and vascular complications (0.6% vs. 1.7%; OR: 0.32; 95% CI: 0.12 to 0.90). Access site crossover was significantly higher among women assigned to radial access (PCI cohort: 6.1% vs. 1.7%; OR: 3.65; 95% CI: 1.45 to 9.17); total randomized cohort: (6.7% vs. 1.9%; OR: 3.70; 95% CI: 2.14 to 6.40). More women preferred radial access.ConclusionsIn this pragmatic trial, which was terminated early, the radial approach did not significantly reduce bleeding or vascular complications in women undergoing PCI. Access site crossover occurred more often in women assigned to radial access. (SAFE-PCI for Women; NCT01406236)