Age-related differences in the delivery of cardiac management to women versus men with acute myocardial infarction in Japan: Tokai Acute Myocardial Infarction Study: TAMIS

[Differences in cardiac management and in-hospital mortality between elderly patients with and without dementia after acute myocardial infarction: findings from TAMIS data]

AIM

In the United States, a study has shown that dementia is a significant factor negatively associated with medical treatment. Because the increasing number of the elderly has resulted in cause a rise in patients with dementia or acute myocardial infarction (AMI), or both, we need to know the differences in in-hospital mortality between patients with or without dementia in patients with AMI.

METHODS

We used data from 13 acute care hospitals including in the data from the Tokai Acute Myocardial Infarction Study (TAMIS), a retrospective study of all patients admitted to these hospitals from 1995 to 1997 with a diagnosis of AMI. We abstracted the baseline and procedural characteristics from detailed chart reviews. A total of 22 patients with dementia and 1,030 with no dementia who were aged 65 and over were included in the present study, and were divided into two groups according to their diagnosis of dementia. We compared the baseline and procedure characteristics and clinical outcomes between the two groups.

RESULTS

Patients with dementia were older and more likely to have either a lower body mass index score or ADL impairment. As for medical history, patients with dementia were more likely to have a history of cerebrovascular disease, and less likely to have a history of angina or smoking. Before and after multivariable adjustment, no significant difference was found in in-hospital mortality between patients with or without dementia.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study demonstrates that AMI elderly patients with dementia were not less likely to be undertreated and did not have a higher in-hospital mortality rate than non-dementia patients.

Impact of gender on in-hospital mortality of patients with acute myocardial infarction undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: an evaluation of the TAMIS-II data

OBJECT

It is a matter of concern that women have higher in-hospital mortality rates than men with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), however, it is not yet clear whether significant gender differences exist. We studied the influence of gender on the characteristics and in-hospital mortality among patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

METHODS

We used data from 15 acute care hospitals included in the sample from the Tokai Acute Myocardial Infarction Study II (TAMIS-II), a prospective study of all patients admitted to these hospitals from 2001 to 2003 with a diagnosis of AMI. We abstracted the baseline and procedural characteristics from detailed chart reviews which included not only physician notes but also nursing notes, and a questionnaire which included baseline characteristics, procedural course and in-hospital mortality. Multivariate analysis was performed, controlling for age and other variables which were found to be significantly different between men and women by chi-square test or unpaired t test.

PATIENTS

A total of 566 women and 2,048 men were included in the present study.

RESULTS

There were gender differences in age, comorbid conditions, smoking status, body mass index, activities of daily livings, heart failure on presentation, duration of stay, angiographic data, transfer to ICU/CCU, and thrombolytic drugs. In univariate analysis, women had a higher in-hospital mortality rate than did men; however, this gender difference disappeared after adjustment for age and other variables.

CONCLUSION

Our study demonstrated that women with AMI who undergo PCI do not have a higher in-hospital mortality rate than men.

Japanese Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction Who Present Without Chest Pain A High-risk Group

Previous studies have suggested that patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) who presented without chest pain had an unfavorable prognosis due to undertreatment. Despite this, few studies have been conducted on the topic, particularly in Japan. The present analysis aimed at determining whether Japanese AMI patients without chest pain are undertreated and experience higher mortality during hospitalization. Data from the Tokai Acute Myocardial Infarction Study II sample were used, which is a prospective study of all consecutive patients admitted to the 15 acute care hospitals in the Tokai region with the diagnosis of AMI from 2001 to 2003. Data on baseline and procedural characteristics and hospital outcome were collected. Differences in the baseline and procedural characteristics and clinical outcomes between patients presenting with and without chest pain were assessed. We evaluated a total of 1,769 patients who presented with chest pain and 452 who did not. The patients with AMI in the absence of chest pain were older and were more likely to have worse clinical conditions than those with chest pain. They were more likely to be undertreated, although the probability of vasopressor use was higher. The patients without chest pain had a significantly higher in-hospital mortality rate than those with chest pain. According to multivariate analysis, however, chest pain was not identified as an independent predictor of in-hospital death. The results suggest that the higher in-hospital mortality rate among Japanese AMI patients without chest pain could be accounted for by differences in clinical conditions.

Effect of Emergency Percutaneous Coronary Intervention on In-Hospital Mortality of Very Elderly (80+ Years of Age) Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction

It is still controversial whether percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is effective in improving in-hospital survival in very elderly patients. Therefore, using data from the Tokai Acute Myocardial Infarction Study II, we studied the effect of emergency PCI on the in-hospital mortality of very elderly (80+ years of age) patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The study was a prospective study of all consecutive patients admitted to the 15 acute care hospitals in the Tokai region with the diagnosis of AMI from 2001 to 2003. A total of 211 patients undergoing emergency PCI and 176 patients not undergoing PCI were included in the present analysis. We compared the baseline and procedural characteristics and the clinical outcomes between the 2 groups. Patients without emergency PCI were older and had an increased prevalence of female gender, ADL impairment, and dementia in comparison with those with PCI. They also showed poorer clinical conditions. They were less likely to be transferred to intensive care or coronary care units and to be given intra-aortic balloon pumps. The patients with emergency PCI had nearly one-third the in-hospital mortality rate of the patients without emergency PCI. According to multivariate analysis, emergency PCI was still identified as an independent predictor of in-hospital death, with an adjusted odds ratio of 0.26 (95% CI, 0.07-0.97). The results indicated that emergency PCI has a preventative effect on in-hospital mortality in Japanese AMI patients 80 years of age and older.

Age Differences in the Delivery of Cardiac Management to Women Versus Men With Acute Myocardial Infarction An Evaluation of the TAMIS-II Data

It is of concern that women are more likely to undergo fewer diagnostic tests and receive less treatment for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) than men. Our retrospective Tokai Acute Myocardial Infarction Study (TAMIS) indicated that there were gender differences according to age groups; however, the exact nature of these gender differences remains unclear. Therefore, using data from TAMIS-II, we studied the influence of gender on the delivery of cardiac management according to 2 age groups (< 65, >or= 65). TAMIS-II is a prospective study of all consecutive patients admitted to the 15 acute care hospitals in the Tokai region with the diagnosis of AMI from 2001 to 2003. A total of 169 younger women, 1246 younger men, 616 older women, and 1240 older men were included. Data on patient demographics, in-hospital course, comorbid conditions, electrocardiography (ECG), ultrasound-echocardiogram (UCG), treadmill test (TMT), coronary angiography (CAG), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), coronary artery bypass grafts (CABG), intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP), mechanical ventilation, and in-hospital or discharge medications (thrombolytics, vasopressors, aspirin, beta-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, calcium antagonists, nitrates) were collected. After controlling for these baseline variables, only lipid-lowering therapy tended to be more frequent in women than in men among the elderly (OR 1.55, 95%CI 1.00-2.38). The results from this Japanese chart review study, derived from detailed clinical data, indicated that the delivery pattern of cardiac management for female and male AMI patients during hospitalization and at discharge was very similar among the younger and older populations.