Myocardial infarction: a five-year follow-up of patients.

Patients with acute myocardial infarction (2,020) admitted to coronary care units (CCU) in Utah were studied for five years. Of these, 1,641 (81.4 percent) survived to leave the hospital. The male to female ratio was 3.5:1. At four months, one year and yearly thereafter from the date of admission to CCU, patients were mailed follow-up questionnaires. Cause of death was obtained from autopsy reports and death certificates. Patients were grouped yearly by the number of cardiac symptoms reported. Of patients discharged whose cases were followed, 925 (61.9 percent) were alive after five years. Reinfarction was the major cause of death in the hospital; however, during follow-up only 36.8 percent of deaths were attributable to myocardial infarction. At follow-up after a year, fewer cardiac symptoms were reported by patients who survived to the fifth year of follow-up than by patients who did not. Women were older and showed a higher death rate during follow-up. Increasing age was found to be a determining factor in long-term mortality after acute myocardial infarction.