Prevalence and Prognosis of High-risk Myocardial Infarction Patient Candidates to Extended Antiplatelet Therapy

Abstract

Introduction and objectivesSecondary prevention in myocardial infarction patients is paramount to prevent recurrences. Dual antiplatelet therapy has been shown to reduce the risk of subsequent events up to 1 year and beyond in the PEGASUS-TIMI 54 trial. This study aimed to estimate the annual number of myocardial infarction patients with PEGASUS characteristics in Spain and to analyze short- and long-term outcomes in these patients. MethodsThe number of myocardial infarction patients was estimated assuming a Poisson distribution. Myocardial infarction incidence and mortality rates obtained from population registries (IBERICA and REGICOR) were properly adjusted. The proportion of myocardial infarction patients with PEGASUS characteristics was estimated with a REGICOR cohort of consecutive patients from 2003-2009 (n=1391). This cohort follow-up was used to compare the occurrence of reinfarction and death at 1 year and at the end of the follow-up (4.7 years) in patients with and without PEGASUS characteristics by Cox regression. ResultsThe estimated annual number of stable myocardial infarction patients aged ≥ 50 years and without bleeding events was 41 311. Of these, 22 493 had at least 1 PEGASUS characteristic (diabetes, previous myocardial infarction, or chronic kidney disease). At 4.7 years of follow-up, having any PEGASUS characteristic or age ≥ 65 years was associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular and all-cause death in adjusted analyses (hazard ratio=3.44 and 2.21, 95% confidence interval, 1.22-9.74 and 1.11-4.42, respectively). ConclusionsIn Spain, more than 50% of the stable myocardial infarction patients aged ≥ 50 years are estimated to have at least 1 PEGASUS characteristic, which substantially increases the long-term risk of cardiovascular and all-cause death.