Differences in cardiac management and in-hospital mortality between elderly patients with and without dementia after acute myocardial infarction: Findings from TAMIS data

Abstract

Aim: In the United States, a study has shown that dementia is a significant factor negatively associated with medical treatment. Because the increasing number of the elderly has resulted in cause a rise in patients with dementia or acute myocardial infarction (AMI), or both, we need to know the differences in in-hospital mortality between patients with or without dementia in patients with AMI. Methods: We used data from 13 acute care hospitals including in the data from the Tokai Acute Myocardial Infarction Study (TAMIS), a retrospective study of all patients admitted to these hospitals from 1995 to 1997 with a diagnosis of AMI. We abstracted the baseline and procedural characteristics from detailed chart reviews. A total of 22 patients with dementia and 1,030 with no dementia who were aged 65 and over were included in the present study, and were divided into two groups according to their diagnosis of dementia. We compared the baseline and procedure characteristics and clinical outcomes between the two groups. Results: Patients with dementia were older and more likely to have either a lower body mass index score or ADL impairment. As for medical history, patients with dementia were more likely to have a history of cerebrovascular disease, and less likely to have a history of angina or smoking. Before and after multivariable adjustment, no significant difference was found in in-hospital mortality between patients with or without dementia. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that AMI elderly patients with dementia were not less likely to be undertreated and did not have a higher in-hospital mortality rate than non-dementia patients.