U.S. Outcomes in Acute Myocardial Infarction Have Improved in the Last 20 Years

But geographical areas with greater financial burdens show less improvement.

How much have treatments and outcomes for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) changed among older patients in the U.S.? To assess recent trends, investigators analyzed Medicare data from 1995 through 2014, during which almost 4.4 million fee-for-service beneficiaries aged ≥65 were hospitalized with AMI.

Over this period, significant decreases were seen in the percentages of female patients (50% to 46%) and white patients (91% to 86%), while the proportion of black patients increased (6% to 8%). Hospitalizations for AMI decreased (914 to 566/100,000 beneficiary-years).

The primary outcome, 30-day mortality, decreased significantly from 1995 to 2014 (20% to 12%). Decreases were also seen in 30-day all-cause readmissions (21% to 15%), 1-year recur…

Reviewing Author

Karol E. Watson, MD, PhD, FACC

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardBoehringer Ingelheim; Amgen; Novartis; Lilly; Amarin

Speaker’s BureauBoehringer Ingelheim

Grant/Research SupportNIH

Editorial BoardsCirculation (Associate Editor)