Variations in angioplasty and bypass surgery.

OBJECTIVES

This article describes rates of and times to revascularization procedures for heart attack patients.

DATA SOURCE

The data are from Statistics Canada's Person-Oriented Information Data Base. Hospital discharge records for heart attack patients were linked for fiscal years 1992/93 and 1993/94.

ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES

Hospital patients admitted between April 1 and September 30, 1993 with a primary diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) were followed for six months to determine what percentage underwent percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty and/or coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Analyses of time-to-procedure were performed for those patients who had not been hospitalized for AMI in the previous 12 months.

MAIN RESULTS

Approximately 24,000 Canadians were discharged from hospital during the first half of fiscal year 1993/94 with a diagnosis of AMI. Within six months, 8.7% had an angioplasty and 6.7% had a bypass; overall, 14.9% were revascularized. Women were less likely than men to have a bypass, but angioplasty rates did not differ significantly. The rate of revascularization declined with age. After adjusting for age and sex, rates were higher in the western provinces.