The influence of age on health status outcomes after acute myocardial infarction

Background: Older age is a risk factor for higher mortality after acute myocardial infarction (AMI), but the association with health status outcomes is largely unexplored. Methods: In a prospective cohort of 2498 patients in the PREMIER study, we compared health-related quality of life (HRQL) and burden of angina symptoms among survivors of AMI by age strata (age groups ≥75, 65-74, 50-64, and 19-49 years) using the Seattle Angina Questionnaire. Multivariable analyses assessed the relationship between age and 1-year HRQL and angina burden, adjusting for differences in clinical characteristics, treatment, and baseline health status. Results: Older patients comprised a majority: 20.1% were ≥75 years of age, 41.7% were 65 to 74 years of age, 20.7% were 50 to 64 years of age, and 17.4% were <50 years of age. At 12 months, older patients had higher mortality (17.0% vs 8.7% vs 6.1% vs 3.2% for age groups ≥75, 65-74, 50-64, 19-49; P < .001). Among survivors of AMI, increasing age was associated with less angina and better HRQL. By 12 months, older patients reported less angina (10.9% vs 12.7% vs 19.3% vs 23.4% for age groups ≥75, 65-74, 50-64, 19-49; P < .0001) and better HRQL (scores 89.1 vs 88.1 vs 82.5 vs 80.0, respectively; P < .0001), which persisted after adjustment for baseline angina, HRQL, and other demographic, clinical, disease severity, and treatment differences. Conclusions: Although older patients have higher mortality after AMI, those who survive experience fewer symptoms and better HRQL at 1 year than younger patients. Angina remains present in a number of patients across the spectrum of age, supporting strategies to systematically assess and treat symptoms after AMI.