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Aim The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that diabetes modifies the risk of mortality in acute heart failure patients, especially in patients with impaired LVEF, and that impaired LVEF in turn modifies the risk of mortality in diabetic patients. Methods and results We studied 2121 patients with acute heart failure admitted at two centres in Singapore from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2009. The date of the last follow-up was 31 December 2011, with a median follow-up time (interquartile range) of 914 (442–1190) days. Cox regression was used to estimate hazard ratios for all-cause mortality in patients with LVEF ≥50%, LVEF 30–49%, and LVEF 50% was not increased. Other clinical predictors of mortality were ageing, prior myocardial infarction, systolic blood pressure >140 mmHg, creatinine ≥250 µmol/L, haemoglobin

the purpose of this study was to investigate differences in long-term mortality following acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in patients from three major ethnicities of Asia.We studied 15,151 patients hospitalized for AMI with a median follow-up of 7.3 years (maximum 12 years) in six publicly-funded hospitals in Singapore from 2000-2005. Overall and cause-specific cardiovascular (CV) mortality until 2012 were compared among three major ethnic groups that represent large parts of Asia: Chinese, Malay and Indian. Relative survival of all three ethnic groups was compared with a contemporaneous background reference population using the relative survival ratio (RSR) method. The median global registry of acute coronary events score was highest among Chinese, followed by Malay and Indians: 144 (25th percentile 119, 75th percentile 173), 138 (115, 167), and 131 (109, 160), respectively, p0.0001; similarly, in-hospital mortality was highest among Chinese (9.8%) followed by Malay (7.6%) and Indian (6.4%) patients. In contrast, 12-year overall and cause-specific CV mortality was highest among Malay (46.2 and 32.0%) followed by Chinese (43.0 and 27.0%) and Indian (35.9 and 25.2%) patients, p0.0001. The five-year RSR was lowest among Malay (RSR 0.69) followed by Chinese (RSR 0.73) and Indian (RSR 0.79) patients, compared with a background reference population (RSR 1.00).We observed strong inter-Asian ethnic disparities in long-term mortality after AMI. Malay patients had the most discordant relationship between baseline risk and long-term mortality. Intensified interventions targeting Malay patients as a high-risk group are necessary to reduce disparities in long-term outcomes.

Impaired renal function and anaemia are common among patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). While both conditions are known independent risk factors for increased mortality, their interaction as risk factors for increased mortality in AMI is unclear.We studied 5395 subjects hospitalized for AMI between January 2000 and December 2005. An estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR)60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) was defined as impaired GFR and GFR ≥ 60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) was defined as preserved GFR. Anaemia was defined as13 g/dL (males) and12 g/dL (females). The odds ratio (OR) for one-year mortality and its 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated by logistic regression.We identified 758 (14%) patients with impaired GFR and anaemia, 1105 (20.5%) patients with impaired GFR without anaemia, 465 (8.6%) patients with preserved GFR and anaemia, and 3012 (55.8%) patients with preserved GFR without anaemia; one-year mortality rates were 56.5%, 41.8%, 31.8% and 10.3% respectively in these 4 groups. Among patients with impaired GFR, anaemia was associated with an adjusted OR of 1.47 (95% CI=1.17-1.85) for one-year mortality, while among patients with preserved GFR, anaemia was associated with a higher adjusted OR of 2.07 (95% CI=1.54-2.76) for one-year mortality, interaction P0.001.The combination of impaired GFR and anaemia confers greater than five-fold increased risk of mortality after AMI. The differential effect of anaemia among patients with impaired and preserved GFR on mortality suggests that in patients with preserved GFR anaemia confers a greater relative hazard than in patients with impaired renal function.

Background We examined the influence of sex, ethnicity, and time on competing cardiovascular and noncardiovascular causes of death following acute myocardial infarction in a multiethnic Asian cohort. Methods and Results For 12 years, we followed a prospective nationwide cohort of 15 151 patients (aged 22–101 years, median age 63 years; 72.3% male; 66.7% Chinese, 19.8% Malay, 13.5% Indian) who were hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction between 2000 and 2005. There were 6463 deaths (4534 cardiovascular, 1929 noncardiovascular). Compared with men, women had a higher risk of cardiovascular death (age‐adjusted hazard ratio [ HR ] 1.3, 95% CI 1.2–1.4) but a similar risk of noncardiovascular death ( HR 0.9, 95% CI 0.8–1.0). Sex differences in cardiovascular death varied by ethnicity, age, and time. Compared with Chinese women, Malay women had the greatest increased hazard of cardiovascular death ( HR 1.4, 95% CI 1.2–1.6) and a marked imbalance in death due to heart failure or cardiomyopathy ( HR 3.4 [95% CI 1.9–6.0] versus HR 1.5 [95% CI 0.6–3.6] for Indian women). Compared with same‐age Malay men, Malay women aged 22 to 49 years had a 2.5‐fold (95% CI 1.6–3.8) increased hazard of cardiovascular death. Sex disparities in cardiovascular death tapered over time, least among Chinese patients and most among Indian patients; the HR comparing cardiovascular death of Indian women and men decreased from 1.9 (95% CI 1.5–2.4) at 30 days to 0.9 (95% CI 0.5–1.6) at 10 years. Conclusion Age, ethnicity, and time strongly influence the association between sex and specific cardiovascular causes of mortality, suggesting that health care policy to reduce sex disparities in acute myocardial infarction outcomes must consider the complex interplay of these 3 major modifying factors.

Background Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a leading cause of mortality in Asia. However, quantitative risk scores to predict mortality after AMI were developed without the participation of Asian countries. Methods We evaluated the performance of the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) in-hospital mortality risk score, directly and after recalibration, in a large Singaporean cohort representing 3 major Asian ethnicities. Results The GRACE cohort included 11,389 patients, predominantly of European descent, hospitalized for AMI or unstable angina from 2002 to 2003. The Singapore cohort included 10,100 Chinese, 3,005 Malay, and 2,046 Indian patients hospitalized for AMI from 2002 to 2005.Using the original GRACE score, predicted in-hospital mortality was 2.4% (Chinese), 2.0% (Malay), and 1.6% (Indian). However, observed in-hospital mortality was much greater at 9.8% (Chinese), 7.6% (Malay), and 6.4% (Indian). The c statistic for Chinese, Malays, and Indians was 0.86, 0.86, and 0.84, respectively, and the Hosmer-Lemeshow statistic was 250, 56, and 41, respectively. Recalibration of the GRACE score, using the mean-centered constants derived from the Singapore cohort, did not change the c statistic but substantially improved the Hosmer-Lemeshow statistic to 90, 24, and 18, respectively. The recalibrated GRACE score predicted in-hospital mortality as follows: 7.7% (Chinese), 6.0% (Malay), and 5.2% (Indian). Conclusion In this large cohort of 3 major Asian ethnicities, the original GRACE score, derived from populations outside Asia, underestimated in-hospital mortality after AMI. Recalibration improved risk estimation substantially and may help adapt externally developed risk scores for local practice.

Background — Antiplatelet agents, beta-blockers, statins and ACE inhibitors have been shown to reduce mortality in patients following myocardial infarction (MI). However, it is uncertain if the combination of these agents has a similar impact on mortality following MI in patients with renal dysfunction. Methods — We studied 5529 consecutive patients with confirmed MI between January 2000 and December 2003. Data on baseline demographics, co-morbidities and in-hospital management were collected prospectively. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was estimated using the 4-component Modification of Diet in Renal Disease equation. Based on discharge use of evidence-based medications, the patients were divided into those using 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4 medications.The impact of medication use on I-year mortality was then assessed for patients with GFR ≥ 60 ml/min/1.73 m 2 (group I) and GFR < 60 ml/min/ 1.73 m 2 (group 2). Results - Mean age was 63 ± 13 years with 71% men. The prevalence of reduced GFR was 35% and the adjusted odds ratio for I-year mortality of patients in group 2 compared to those in group I was 1.86 (95% CI 1.54-2.25, P < 0.001). Compared with patients with no medication, the adjusted odds ratio for 1-year mortality was lower in patients with 1, 2, 3 and 4 medications in both groups. There was no significant interaction between the number of medications used and GFR. Conclusion - Increased use of combined evidence-based medications was independently associated with a lower I-year post MI mortality. Such therapies offer similar survival benefit in patients with and without renal dysfunction.

Introduction: Several randomised controlled trials have demonstrated better outcomes with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) over fibrinolytic therapy in the treatment of patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and normal renal function. Whether this benefit extends to patients with impaired renal function is uncertain. Materials and Methods: We studied 1672 patients with STEMI within 12 hours of symptom onset who were admitted to 2 major public hospitals in Singapore from 2000 to 2002. All patients received either upfront fibrinolytic or PCI as determined by the attending cardiologist. Serum creatinine was measured on admission and the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was determined using the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease equation. The impact of reperfusion strategy on 30-ay mortality was then determined for patients with GFR ≥60 mL min-¹ 1.73 m-² and GFR

Young patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) have a more favorable prognosis than older patients with MI. However, there are limited data comparing the prognosis of young patients with MI with young population controls. Comparison with an age-matched background population could unmask residual mortality risk in young patients with MI that would otherwise not be apparent when merely comparing the mortality risk of young and older patients with MI. We studied 15,151 patients with AMI from 2000 to 2005, of which 601 patients were ≤40 years (young MI). The relative survival ratio (RSR) was calculated as the ratio of the observed survival of patients with MI divided by the expected survival, estimated from the background population (n = 3,771,700) matched for age, gender, and follow-up year. An RSR of 1.0 indicates poorer or better survival, respectively, than the background population. The 12-year all-cause and cardiovascular mortality of young versus older patients was 12.8% versus 50.7% (p

We conducted a randomized feasibility pilot study comparing combined fibrinolysis with immediate rescue angioplasty vs. primary angioplasty with adjunctive abciximab in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Seventy patients with ST segment elevation AMI of ≤ 6 hr were randomized to either 50 mg of alteplase and abciximab (n = 34) or primary angioplasty with adjunctive abciximab (n = 36). Coronary angiography was performed at 60 min in the combined lytic group and TIMI 3 flow was present in 65% of patients as compared to 25% (P = 0.001) in the primary angioplasty group prior to intervention. Treatment success, defined as TIMI 3 flow, was achieved in 83% of patients in the primary angioplasty group (P = 0.075 compared to 65% in combined lytic group before rescue angioplasty). There was no difference in overall treatment success between primary angioplasty and combined lytic group with rescue angioplasty (83% vs. 94%; P = NS). Major adverse cardiac events at 1 month were not significant (15% vs. 11%; P = NS), but there was a trend toward more events in the combined lytic group at 6 months (32% vs. 14%; P = 0.066), particularly in target vessel revascularization. In this feasibility pilot study, high rate of TIMI 3 flow was attained in patients with AMI with both combined fibrinolysis and primary angioplasty with adjunctive abciximab. A larger randomized trial is currently ongoing to compare these two strategies. Cathet Cardiovasc Intervent 2004;62:445–452. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Background The role of sex, and its joint effect with age and diabetes mellitus, on mortality subsequent to surviving an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) beyond 30 days are unclear. The high prevalence of diabetes mellitus in an ethnically diverse Asian population motivates this study. Methods The study population comprised of a nationwide cohort of Asian patients with AMI, hospitalized between 2000 to 2005, who survived the first 30 days post-admission and were followed prospectively until death or 12 years. Results Among the 13,389 survivors, there were fewer women (25.5%) who were older than men (median 70 vs. 58 years) and a larger proportion had diabetes mellitus at admission (51.4% vs. 31.4%). During follow-up 4,707 deaths (women 13.2%; men 22.0%) occurred, with women experiencing higher mortality than men with an averaged hazard ratio (HR): 2.08; 95% confidence interval : 1.96-2.20. However the actual adverse outcome, although always greater, reduced over time with an estimated HR: 2.23 (2.04-2.45) at 30 days to HR: 1.75; (1.47-2.09) 12 years later. The difference in mortality also declined with increasing age: HR 1.80 (1.52-2.13) for those aged 22-59, 1.26 (1.11-1.42) for 60-69, 1.06 (0.96-1.17) and 0.96 (0.85-1.09) for those 70-79 and 80-101 years. Significant two-factor interactions were observed between sex, age and diabetes (P

Objective: To compare the early and late outcomes of primary percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) with fibrinolytic treatment among diabetic patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Design: Retrospective observational study with data obtained from prospective registries. Setting: Tertiary cardiovascular institution with 24 hour acute interventional facilities. Patients: 202 consecutive diabetic patients with AMI receiving reperfusion treatment within six hours of symptom onset. Interventions: Fibrinolytic treatment was administered to 99 patients, and 103 patients underwent primary PTCA. Most patients undergoing PTCA received adjunctive stenting (94.2%) and glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibition (63.1%). Main outcome measures: Death, non-fatal reinfarction, and target vessel revascularisation at 30 days and one year were assessed. Results: Baseline characteristics were similar in these two treatment groups except that the proportion of patients with Killip class III or IV was considerably higher in those treated with PTCA (15.5% v 6.1%, p = 0.03) and time to treatment was significantly longer (103.7 v 68.0 minutes, p v 17.2%, p = 0.011) and target vessel revascularisation at one year (19.4% v 36.4%, p = 0.007) were lower. Death or reinfarction at one year was also reduced among those treated with PTCA (17.5% v 31.3%, p = 0.02), with an adjusted relative risk of 0.29 (95% confidence interval 0.15 to 0.57) compared with fibrinolysis. Conclusion: Among diabetic patients with AMI, primary PTCA was associated with reduced early and late adverse events compared with fibrinolytic treatment.

Objectives: To study sex differences in clinical characteristics and outcomes among multi-ethnic Southeast Asian patients with hospitalized heart failure (HHF). Background: HHF is an important public health problem affecting man and women globally. Reports from Western populations suggest striking sex differences in risk factors and outcomes in HHF. However, this has not been studied in a multi-ethnic Asian population. Methods: Using the population-based resources of the Singapore Cardiac Data Bank, we studied 5,703 consecutive cases of HHF admitted across hospitals in the Southeast Asian nation of Singapore from 1st January, 2008 through 31st December, 2009. Results: Women accounted for 46% of total admissions and were characterized by older age (73 vs. 67 years; p

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To determine clinical outcome and rates of target vessel revascularization (TVR) in patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for STEMI who were treated with cobalt-chromium stents compared to stainless steel bare metal stents (BMS).The newer generation cobalt chromium stents were reported to achieve lower rates of TVR compared with conventional BMS.Consecutive STEMI cases admitted within 12 h of symptom onset and undergoing primary angioplasty and bare metal stent implantation 1 January 2002 and 31 December 2008 were identified. Primary outcomes were rates of clinically-driven TVR at six months as well as occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) either of all-cause death, repeat myocardial infarction or TVR at six months.1030 cases with 1175 lesions (84% males) and median age of 58 years underwent primary PCI for STEMI in our registry. Overall procedural success rate was 98%. Stainless steel stents were inserted in 65% of the culprit lesions (stainless steel, n = 766 versus cobalt chromium, n = 264). Primary outcomes of TVR (3.5% in the stainless steel group and 3.4% in the cobalt chromium group, P = 0.93) and MACE (8.4% in the stainless steel group and 5.3% in the cobalt chromium group, P = 0.11) after six months were no different between the two groups. However, there were more deaths at 30 days in the stainless steel group compared to the cobalt chromium group (3.5% versus 0.4%, HR 4.04 (1.03-3.88), P = 0.04).Both cobalt-chromium and stainless steel coronary stents were associated with similar and low risk of clinically-driven TVR.

Background: The use of DES results in lower risk of target vessel revascularization (TVR) compared to bare metal stents (BMS) following primary PCI for patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). However, BMS are more commonly implanted compared to DES due to concerns of poor compliance to dual antiplatelet therapy, risk of late stent thrombosis and increased cost. Newer generation BMS based on cobalt chromium alloy have thinner stent struts, better deliverability and potentially lower rates of TVR compared with conventional stainless steel BMS. Therefore we aim to determine the clinical outcome and rates of TVR in patients undergoing primary PCI for STEMI who were treated with cobaltchromium stents compared to stainless steel stents.

The Technological Change in Health Care Research Network collected unique patient-level data on three procedures for treatment of heart attack patients (catheterization, coronary artery bypass grafts and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty) for 17 countries over a 15-year period to examine the impact of economic and institutional factors on technology adoption. Specific institutional factors are shown to be important to the uptake of these technologies. Health-care systems characterized as public contract systems and reimbursement systems have higher adoption rates than public-integrated health-care systems. Central control of funding of investments is negatively associated with adoption rates and the impact is of the same magnitude as the overall health-care system classification. GDP per capita also has a strong role in initial adoption. The impact of income and institutional characteristics on the utilization rates of the three procedures diminishes over time. authorsversion published

Introduction: The treatment and outcome of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has evolved greatly over the past few decades. We compared the mortality and complication rates of patients with AMI admitted to the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) in 2002 to previously reported data. Materials and Methods: All data for AMI patients admitted to National Heart Centre CCU in 2002 were collected through the Singapore Cardiac Data Bank, including demographics, inhospital complications and mortality. These were compared to previous reports from the same institution in 1988, 1975 and 1967. Results: A total of 516 cases with AMI were identified. A higher proportion of patients were aged ≥70 years in 2002 (31.8%) compared to 1988 (25%), 1975 (11%) and 1967 (5.6%). Acute percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) was performed in 250 of 516 (48%) patients in 2002. The overall in-patient and age-standardised mortality was 14.7% and 10% respectively, compared to 20.6% and 17% respectively in 1988 (P = 0.06). For the 250 patients who underwent acute PTCA, overall mortality was 5.2% compared to 24% in those who did not (P

To determine the ethnic variation of short and long term female vulnerability after an acute coronary event in a population of Chinese, Indians, and Malays.Population based registry.Residents of Singapore between the ages of 20-64 years with coronary events. Case identification and classification procedures were modified from the MONICA (monitoring trends and determinants in cardiovascular disease) project.Adjusted 28 day case fatality and long term mortality.From 1991 to 1999, there were 16 320 acute coronary events, including 3497 women. Age adjusted 28 day case fatality was greater in women (51.5% v 38.6%, p0.001), with a larger sex difference evident among younger Malay patients. This inequality between the sexes was observed in both the pre-hospitalisation and post-admission periods. Among hospitalised patients, women were older, were less likely to have suffered from a previous Q wave or anterior wall myocardial infarction, and had lower peak creatine kinase concentrations. Case fatality was higher among women, with adjusted hazard ratios of 1.64 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.43 to 1.88) and 1.50 (95% CI 1.37 to 1.64) for 28 day and mean four year follow up periods. There were significant interactions of sex and age with ethnic group (p = 0.017). The adjusted hazards for mortality among Chinese, Indian, and Malay women versus men were 1.30, 1.71, and 1.96, respectively. The excess mortality among women diminished with age.In this multiethnic population, both pre-hospitalisation and post-admission case fatality rates were substantially higher among women. The sex discrepancy in long term mortality was greatest among Malays and in the younger age groups.

International audience; The goal of this paper is to present new comparative evidence on heart attack care in 17 countries showing that changes in medical treatments are universal, but have differed greatly. We have collected a large body of comparable information that show how countries differ in treatment rates and why these differences are relatively marked. Countries appear to differ systematically in the time at which intensive cardiac procedures began to be widely used and in the rate of growth of the procedures. Our results show that differences in treatment rates are greatest for expensive medical technologies. Also strict financing limits and regulatory policies have affected the adoption of intensive technologies. These differences may have important economic and health consequences.

Although it is widely accepted that stenting confers favorable angiographic and clinical results in coronary arteries/=3.0 mm in diameter, the outcome of stent placement in smaller vessels remains largely unclear.We sought to specifically determine the early and long-term clinical outcomes in a large series of 197 consecutive patients who underwent stent placement in 207 vessels3.0 mm in diameter. Procedural success, accomplished in 97.3%, was accompanied by a significant reduction in lesion severity from 85% +/- 9% before to 3% +/- 7% diameter stenosis after the procedure (P =.0001) and a 0.5% incidence of subacute stent thrombosis. At 1 and 2 years of follow-up, survival rate without major target lesion-driven events was observed in 77.3% and 73.9% of patients, respectively. Repeat revascularization procedures accounted for most of these events; cardiac deaths (including those related to subacute stent thrombosis) and late (30 days) myocardial infarctions were infrequent (2.4% and 1.0%, respectively). The 6-month angiographic binary instent restenosis rate was 30.1%. On multivariate analysis, diabetes mellitus (P =. 0275), small baseline reference vessel size (P =.0300), and stent size/=2.7 mm (P =.0111) were independently associated with an increased instent restenosis rate.Optimal angiography-guided coronary stenting of vessels3.0 mm in diameter in association with the stringent use of a poststent combined aspirin-ticlopidine antiplatelet regimen confers a low risk of stent thrombosis, an acceptable incidence of angiographic instent restenosis, and a favorable long-term clinical outcome.

a categorical variable of low (10-14), moderate (15-21) and high (22-40) trait anger. Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was used to determine the relative hazard of HF across categories of anger proneness. Results: High trait anger was associated with increased age-adjusted incidence of heart failure (Figure 1). During the median 14.5 years of follow-up, the age, gender, and race adjusted risk of incident HF among those with high as compared to low trait anger (Hazard Ratio, HR51.48 [95% CI 1.25, 1.76]) was attenuated in analyses adjusted for education and median household income (HR 5 1.39 [95% CI 1.16, 1.66]). Adjustment for depression further attenuated estimates to statistically non-significant levels. The average number of hospital readmissions post incident HF event increased from 4.7 for those with low or moderate anger to 5.9 for those with high anger (p!0.05). Conclusions: In this bi-racial cohort, anger proneness was associated with increased incidence of HF and an increased number of hospital readmissions among individuals with HF. This study suggests that evaluating personality traits is important for individuals at risk for HF and those with HF.

Permanent cardiac pacing is the treatment of choice in patients with symptomatic bradyarrhythmias. The SCDB is a prospective registry of interventional cardiac procedures done in Singapore since July 2000. This report looks at the data from NHC during the period from 2000–2010. There were 1724 pacemakers implanted during the 10 year with almost yearly increase in the number of pacemakers implanted at this single centre. The mean age of the patients was 69.86 years+12.2 old (median 71 years old, range 11–98 years). Over the 10 year period, there were more females (54.2% females vs 45.8% males). Sick sinus syndrome remains the most common indication for pacemaker implantation (60.7%) and the second most common indication was AV block (35.3%). This trend was consistently seen over the decade. The number of females was higher in the sick sinus syndrome group (59.8% females vs 40.2% males) whereas the proportion of males was higher in the complete heart block group (46.5% females vs 53.5% males). In conclusion, there is an increase in the number of pacemakers implanted likely due to an aging population. Females remain consistently higher and sick sinus syndrome remains the most important indication for pacing. With the rapidly aging population, it would be expected that this trend would continue to increase over the next decade.