title: Improvement of ED prediction of cardiac mortality among patients with symptoms suggestive of acute myocardial infarction.
abstract: A study was undertaken to evaluate the 1-year risk of cardiac death for patients with chest pain/suspected acute myocardial infarction in the emergency department (ED) and express the prognosis in a statistical model. Clinical variables and electrocardiogram were correlated to cardiac death during 1 year. Cox regression model was used to estimate the risk of death as a continuous function of a risk score and the time interval. From these, the prognosis for each patient can be calculated. There were 6,794 visits by 5,303 patients followed for 1 year, during which 604 patients died. The absolute risk of cardiac death can be calculated from the independent predictors for cardiac death: age; sex; histories of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and congestive heart failure; and symptoms, electrocardiographic pattern, and degree of suspicion of acute myocardial infarction on admission. This model allows estimation of the prognosis for every patient with chest pain/suspected acute myocardial infarction from data easily available in the ED.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Göteborg, Sweden.
authors.forename: B W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Karlson
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Herlitz
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Strömbom
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lindqvist
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oden
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hjalmarson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002637:Chest Pain / Q000401:mortality*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality*; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012307:Risk Factors; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013548:Sweden