Simple prediction of 28-day mortality following an acute myocardial infarction.

Upon admission to a drug study of 1,122 patients with myocardial infarction, twenty-seven questions relating to the patients' cardiac status were answered by the physicians. These questions were categorized into four groups of related items of signs and symptoms. Thus four scores could be completed: degree of infarction score, cardiogenic shock score, cardiac failure score, and overall-state-of-the-patient score. The scores were all found to be highly correlated with 28-day mortality. Also, since these scores can be easily and immediately determined at the bedside, or with standard tests, they are both convenient and accurate predictors of 28-day mortality following a myocardial infarction.