Age Differences in the Chief Complaint Associated with a First Acute Myocardial Infarction and Patient’s Care Seeking Behavior – DocWire News

BACKGROUND:

To describe age differences in patients chief complaint related to a firstmyocardial infarction, and how the typicality of patients acute symptoms relates to extent of pre-hospital delay.

The medical records of 2,586 central Massachusetts residents hospitalized at 11 greater Worcester medical centers with a firstmyocardial infarctionon a biennial basis between 2001 and 2011 were reviewed.

The average age of the study population was 66.4 years, 39.6% were women, 40.2% were diagnosed with a STEMI, and 72.0 % presented with typical symptoms ofmyocardial infarction, namely acute chest pain/pressure. Patients were categorized into five age strata: those less than 55 years old (23%), 55-64 years (20%), 65-74 years (19%), 75-84 years (22%), and those 85 years and older (16%). The lowest proportion (11%) of atypical symptoms ofmyocardial infarctionwas observed in patients <55 years, increasing to 17%, 28%, 40%, and 51% across our respective age groups. The most prevalent chief complaint reported at the time of hospitalization was chest pain but the proportion of patients reporting this symptom decreased from the youngest (83%) to the oldest patient groups (45%). There was a slightly increased risk of prehospital delay across the different age groups (higher in the oldest old) in those who presented with atypical rather than typical symptoms ofmyocardial infarction.

The present results provide insights to the presenting chief complaint of patients hospitalized with a firstmyocardial infarctionaccording to age and the relation of symptom presentation to patients care seeking behavior.

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Age Differences in the Chief Complaint Associated with a First Acute Myocardial Infarction and Patient's Care Seeking Behavior - DocWire News