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Objectives: To evaluate the effects of the early administration of statins during acute myocardial infarction (MI)., Design: A retrospective cohort study was carried out., Setting: National (Spain)., Patients or Participants: Patients included in the ARIAM registry from January 1999 to December 2008 with a diagnosis of MI., Interventions: None., Main Variables: We used logistic regression analysis and propensity scoring to determine whether the administration of statins during the first 24h of MI acts as a protective factor against: 1) mortality, 2) the incidence of lethal arrhythmias, or 3) cardiogenic shock., Results: A total of 36 842 patients were included in the study. Statins were administered early in 50.2% of the patients. Statin administration was associated with younger patients with known previous dyslipidemia, obesity, a history of ischemic heart disease, heart failure, presence of sinus tachycardia, use of beta-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, thrombolysis and percutaneous coronary intervention. Mortality was 8.2% (13.2% without statin versus 3% with statin, P<.001). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that statin administration acted as a protective factor against mortality (adjusted OR 0.518, 95%CI 0.447 to 0.601). Continued use of statins was associated with a reduction in mortality (adjusted OR 0.597, 95%CI 0.449 to 0.798), and the start of treatment was a protective factor against mortality (adjusted OR 0.642, 95%CI 0.544 -0.757). Statin therapy also exerted a protective effect against the incidence of lethal arrhythmias and cardiogenic shock., Conclusions: These results suggest that early treatment with statins in patients with MI is associated with reduced mortality., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier España, S.L. and SEMICYUC. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Describe the frequency of high degree atrioventricular block (HDAVB) in patients with unstable angina (UA), analyze the variables associated with their appearance and evaluate whether HDAVB is independently associated with increased mortality or increased length of ICU stay., Design: Retrospective descriptive study of patients with UA included in the ARIAM registry., Setting: ICUs from 129 hospitals in Spain., Patients: From June 1996 to December 2003 a total of 14,096 patients were included in the ARIAM registry with a diagnosis of UA., Main Variables of Interest: Variables associated with the development of HDAVB, variables associated with the mortality of patients with UA, variables associated with the length of ICU stay of patients with UA., Results: HDAVB frequency was 1%. Development of HDAVB was independently associated with the Killip classification and the presence of sustained ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation. Crude mortality of patients was significantly increased when HDAVB was present (9% versus 1%, p < 0,001). When adjusted for other variables, HDAVB was not associated with increased mortality. Development of HDAVB in patients with UA was independently associated with an increase in the length of ICU stay (adjusted odds ratio 1.89: 95% confidence interval: 1.33-5.69)., Conclusions: Patients with UA complicated with HDAVB represent a high-risk population with an increased ICU stay.