Mortality and risk indicators for death during five years after acute myocardial infarction among patients with and without ST elevation on admission electrocardiogram.

UNLABELLED

We related observations in the electrocardiogram (ECG) on admission to hospital among consecutive patients hospitalized in one single hospital with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and related the prognosis during the following 5 years to these observations.

RESULTS

Of 863 patients, 63% had ECG signs of myocardial ischemia, but only 41% had ST elevation on ED admission. Patients with ST elevation had a 5-year mortality of 44% as compared with 58% in patients without ST elevation (p < 0.001). Patients with the highest mortality were those with a pathologic ECG including signs of previous AMI, bundle branch block and pacemaker ECG, but with no ECG sign of acute ischemia. Patients with the lowest mortality were those with a nonpathologic ECG on admission.

CONCLUSION

Among consecutive patients hospitalized with AMI, less than half had ST elevation on admission to hospital. These patients had a lower mortality during 5 years of follow-up than patients without ST elevation.