Relationship of age with eligibility for thrombolytic therapy and mortality among patients with suspected acute myocardial infarction.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the relationship of age and the percentage of patients presenting to the emergency department with myocardial infarction who meet conventional electrocardiographic and time-to-presentation criteria for thrombolytic therapy.


METHODS
Prospective cohort study.


METHODS
Emergency departments of three university hospitals and four community hospitals.


METHODS
Patients enrolled in the Multicenter Chest Pain Study, an investigation of patients aged 30 years or older presenting to the emergency department with the chief complaint of anterior, precordial, or left lateral chest pain unexplained by obvious local trauma or abnormalities on the chest radiograph.


METHODS
None.


METHODS
The frequency of patients who presented with conventional electrocardiographic and time-to-presentation criteria for thrombolysis.


RESULTS
Of a total of 12,140 patients who were enrolled in the Multicenter Chest Pain Study, 10,850 had information about their electrocardiogram and their time-to-presentation. Acute myocardial infarction occurred in 1,584 patients, 746 of whom were over age 65. Among patients presenting to the emergency department with acute myocardial infarction, the proportion who arrived within 6 hours of the onset of pain and had ST-segment elevation or pathologic Q-waves not known to be old decreased significantly with increasing age, from 34% in patients under 65 years to 18% for those 75 years and older. In addition, comorbidities that would have contraindicated thrombolytic therapy were present in an additional 12% of myocardial infarction patients who were older than 65 years.


CONCLUSIONS
Although other analyses have shown that thrombolytic therapy is cost-effective for eligible elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction, only a small percentage of very elderly patients who present to the emergency department with acute myocardial infarctions meet current eligibility criteria to receive it, so thrombolysis is unlikely to narrow the difference in mortality rates for young as compared with elderly patients with acute infarctions.
Krumholz
H M
HM
Section of Cardiovascular Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
Friesinger
G C
GC
Cook
E F
EF
Lee
T H
TH
Rouan
G W
GW
Goldman
L
L
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004608:Eligibility Determination / Q000379:methods*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D015276:Health Care Rationing / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015912:Thrombolytic Therapy / Q000592:standards*; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States