Key Points
- To assess in-hospital and post-discharge prognosis, heart failure incidence, and ventricular fibrillation outcomes in patients aged 80 years or older after acute myocardial infarction.
- Analyzed a prospective cohort of 4259 consecutive patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction at a single hospital in Denmark over a 12-year pre-thrombolytic period.
- Retrospectively evaluated complications and mortality during hospitalization, as well as at 1 year and 5 years post-discharge across distinct age cohorts.
- In-hospital mortality rose with age, reaching 11% in patients <50 years old, 22% in patients 60–69 years old, and 43% in patients ≥80 years old.
- Heart failure occurred in two-thirds of patients aged ≥80 years, and cardiogenic shock was twice as frequent in this group compared to patients aged 60–69 years.
- Heart failure independently predicted post-discharge mortality, while 4 out of 8 patients aged ≥80 years who survived in-hospital ventricular fibrillation survived at least 1 year post-discharge.
Structured PICO
PPopulation4259 consecutive patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction from a single hospital in Denmark over a 12-year period (before the introduction of thrombolysis).
OOutcomeComplications and mortality in hospital, and 1 and 5 years after dischargehard clinical
Even in the oldest patient groups (≥80 years) with acute myocardial infarction, preventing or treating heart failure has considerable life-saving potential, and survivors of in-hospital ventricular fibrillation have an acceptable 1-year prognosis.