Frequency, patient characteristics, and outcomes of mild-to-moderate heart failure complicating ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction: lessons from 4 international fibrinolytic therapy trials.

BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of data on the incidence of mild-to-moderate heart failure (HF) complicating ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction (MI) and its impact on short-term outcomes. Our objective was to determine the incidence, timing, and consequences of mild-to-moderate HF complicating acute MI. METHODS: We examined the occurrence of death or death/recurrent MI (re-MI) in patients enrolled in the Global Utilization of Streptokinase and Tissue-Plasminogen Activator for Occluded Coronary Arteries (GUSTO-I), the Global Use of Strategies to Open Occluded Coronary Arteries (GUSTO IIb), the Global Use of Strategies to Open Occluded Coronary Arteries (GUSTO-III), and Assessment of the Safety and Efficacy of a New Thrombolytic (ASSENT-II) trials, which examined different fibrinolytic therapies for MI. We excluded patients who had cardiogenic shock (n = 2994) or unknown HF status at all time points (n = 13,716). Of the remaining 61,041 patients, 17,949 patients (29.4%) had HF, 1566 (8.7%) only at baseline, 10,339 (57.6%) only after admission, and 6044 (33.7%) at baseline and after. RESULTS: The incidence of HF was 32.5% in the United States and 26.9% elsewhere. At 30 days, death and death/re-MI occurred in 2% and 4% of patients without HF and 8% and 12% of patients with HF, respectively (2% and 4% of patients with HF only at baseline, 7% and 13% of patients with HF only after baseline, and 10% and 13% of patients with HF at baseline and later). By use of multivariable analyses, the presence of HF was associated with 1.55 times greater risk of dying at 30 days (95% CI 1.38-1.74) and 2.15 times greater risk of death/re-MI (95% CI 1.96-2.36). CONCLUSION: Mild-to-moderate HF is a frequent and ominous complication of MI, especially when it does not resolve or develops after admission.

Duke Scholars

Author Erik Magnus Ohman Medicine, Cardiology

Author Christopher Bull Granger Medicine, Cardiology

Author Christopher Michael O'Connor Medicine, Clinical Pharmacology