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Recently reported declines in mortality in patients with ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) are generally attributed to improvements in reperfusion therapy. To identify other factors associated with improved survival, researchers in France studied nationwide 1-month surveys, conducted 5 years apart (1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010), of adults hospitalized with STEMI. The four registries combined included 6707 patients.
During the study period, mean patient age fell from 66 to 63, and the proportion of current smokers rose from 32% to 41%. Rates of obesity, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia increased over time, whereas rates of prior MI, heart failure, peripheral arterial disease, and stroke or transient ischemic attack decrea…