Patients with diabetes are not more likely to have atypical symptoms when seeking care of a first myocardial infarction. An analysis of 4028 patients in the Northern Sweden MONICA Study.
OBJECTIVE
To describe symptoms of a first myocardial infarction in men and women with and without diabetes.


METHODS
We conducted a population-based study of 4028 people aged 25-74 years, with first myocardial infarction registered in the Northern Sweden Multinational MONItoring of trends and determinants in CArdiovascular disease (MONICA) myocardial infarction registry between 2000 and 2006. Symptoms were classified as typical or atypical according to the World Health Organization MONICA manual.


RESULTS
Among patients with diabetes, 90.1% reported typical symptoms of myocardial infarction; the corresponding proportion among patients without diabetes was 91.5%. In the diabetes group, 88.8% of women and 90.8% of men had typical symptoms of myocardial infarction. No differences were found in symptoms of myocardial infarction between women with and without diabetes or between men with and without diabetes. Atypical symptoms were more prevalent in the older age groups (> 65 years) than in the younger age groups (< 65 years). The increases were approximately equal among men and women, with and without diabetes. Diabetes was not an independent predictor for having atypical symptoms of myocardial infarction.


CONCLUSIONS
Typical symptoms of myocardial infarction were equally prevalent in patients with and without diabetes and there were no sex differences in symptoms among persons with diabetes. Diabetes was not a predictor of atypical symptoms.
Cardiology, Heart Centre and Department of Nursing, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden. karin.hellstrom.angerud@nurs.umu.se
K H
KH
Angerud
C
C
Brulin
U
U
Näslund
M
M
Eliasson
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000787:Angina Pectoris / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D013997:Time Factors