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Objective: To assess long term survival and patient characteristics associated with survival following acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in Australia and New Zealand.Design: Cohort study.Setting, Participants: All patients admitted with AMI (ICD-10-AM codes I21.0-I21.4) to all public and most private hospitals in Australia and New Zealand during 2009-2015.Main Outcome Measure: All-cause mortality up to seven years after an AMI.Results: 239 402 initial admissions with AMI were identified; the mean age of the patients was 69.3 years (SD, 14.3 years), 154 287 were men (64.5%), and 64 335 had ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI; 26.9%). 7-year survival after AMI was 62.3% (STEMI, 70.8%; non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction [NSTEMI], 59.2%); survival exceeded 85% for people under 65 years of age, but was 17.4% for those aged 85 years or more. 120 155 patients (50.2%) underwent revascularisation (STEMI, 72.2%; NSTEMI, 42.1%); 7-year survival exceeded 80% for patients in each group who underwent revascularisation, and was lower than 45% for those who did not. Being older (85 years or older v 18-54 years: adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 10.6; 95% CI, 10.1-11.1) or a woman (aHR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.13-1.17) were each associated with greater long term mortality during the study period, as was prior heart failure (aHR, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.76-1.83). Several non-cardiac conditions and geriatric syndromes common in these patients were independently associated with lower long term survival, including major and metastatic cancer, cirrhosis and end-stage liver disease, and dementia.Conclusion: AMI care in Australia and New Zealand is associated with high rates of long term survival; 7-year rates exceed 80% for patients under 65 years of age and for those who undergo revascularisation. Efforts to further improve survival should target patients with NSTEMI, who are often older and have several comorbid conditions, for whom revascularisation rates are low and survival after AMI poor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare two methods of risk stratification for suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in the ED. Methods: A prospective observational multicentre study was undertaken of patients undergoing evaluation in the ED for possible ACS. We compared the National Heart Foundation of Australia/Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (NHF/CSANZ) guideline and the Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) risk score for differentiating high- and low-risk patients. Composite outcome was all cause death, myocardial infarction or coronary revascularisation within 30 days. Results: Of 1758 enrolments, 223 (13%) reached the study outcome. Area under the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.79 (95% CI 0.76-0.81) for the NHF/CSANZ group and 0.71 (0.68-0.75) for TIMI score based on initial troponin result ( P < 0.001), and 0.82 (95% CI 0.80-0.84) and 0.76 (0.73-0.79) respectively when the 8-12 h troponin result is included ( P = 0.001). Thirty day event rates were 33% for NHF/CSANZ high-risk vs 1.5% for combined low/intermediate risk ( P < 0.001). For TIMI score, 30 day event rates were 23% for a score ≥2 and 4.8% for TIMI < 2 ( P < 0.001). The NHF/CSANZ guideline identified more patients as low risk compared with the TIMI risk score (61% vs 48%, P < 0.001). Conclusions: The NHF/CSANZ guideline is superior to the TIMI risk score for risk stratification of suspected ACS in the ED. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]