First 24 h' outcomes of acute coronary syndrome in Iraq

Abstract

Background: In recent years, there has been a noticeable increase in the frequency of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in Iraq. Despite the need for the data related to the subject in the area, there is a great paucity of such data that mandated the design and conduct of this study. Methods: This prospective, cross-sectional analysis was performed in the coronary care unit of tertiary Azadi Teaching Hospital in Duhok, Kurdistan, Iraq. All patients consecutively who were hospitalized for ACSs between 2015 and 2016 were included to determine the clinical presentations, short term in-hospital complications, and the first 24 h outcomes of ACSs in Duhok, Iraq. Results: The study comprised 380 (279 men and 101 women) cases with a mean age of 59.54 ± 11.50 years. The final diagnosis was ST-elevation myocardial infarction in 67.4%, non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction in 24.7%, and unstable angina in 7.9%. Al least 50% of patients arrived beyond 6 h of symptoms' onset. Participants within the age group 45–74 years constituted the main bulk of the sample (79%). Typical ischemic chest pain accounted for most of the presentations (80.3%). The most common complications were arrhythmias 44.8%, followed by heart failure 15.5%, cardiogenic shock 5.5%, and mechanical complications 3.4%. Uneventful recovery and recovery with complications constituted 74.5% and 19.7%, respectively. The first 24 h in-hospital death was 5.8%. Conclusions: Our patients presented at a relatively young age. In terms of disease presentations, we observed significant gender differences. In-hospital short-term mortality rate was comparable to neighboring nations. Older age rather than gender impact the outcomes.