Prognostic significance of angina pectoris recurring soon after myocardial infarction

The prognostic significance of an early occurrence, or recurrence,of angina pectoris after myocardial infarction was studied in254 patients (221 male, 33 female; mean age 58±11 years).During the in-hospital rehabilitation program, 41 patients (16%)had anginal pain. The mean follow-up was 21 months (range 12–33months). Among the 254 patients, 21 died, five had recurrentmyocardial infarction, 13 had unstable angina, and 22 underwentaortocoronary bypass surgery. An early recurrence of anginapectoris was predictive of combined (medical+surgical) events(21 patients, P<0.05), medical events (11 patients, P<0.05)and surgical events (10 patients, P<0.001), but failed topredict individual death (six patients), recurrent myocardialinfarction (two patients) or unstable angina (three patients).Of the events that occurred in the 254 patients, 34% were predictedby the early recurrence of angina pectoris. Early post-infarctionangina was observed more frequently in older patients and patientswith previous history of angina pectoris. This represents animportant prognostic factor after myocardial infarction, whichdefines a high-risk group of patients requiring further investigationand appropriate therapeutic approaches.