Predicting 6-Month Mortality for Older Adults Hospitalized With Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Cohort Study.

<bold>Background: </bold>Older adults with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) have higher prevalence of functional impairments, including deficits in cognition, strength, and sensory domains, than their younger counterparts.<bold>Objective: </bold>To develop and evaluate the prognostic utility of a risk model for 6-month post-AMI mortality in older adults that incorporates information about functional impairments.<bold>Design: </bold>Prospective cohort study. (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01755052).<bold>Setting: </bold>94 hospitals throughout the United States.<bold>Participants: </bold>3006 persons aged 75 years or older who were hospitalized with AMI and discharged alive.<bold>Measurements: </bold>Functional impairments were assessed during hospitalization via direct measurement (cognition, mobility, muscle strength) or self-report (vision, hearing). Clinical variables associated with mortality in prior risk models were ascertained by chart review. Seventy-two candidate variables were selected for inclusion, and backward selection and Bayesian model averaging were used to derive (n = 2004 participants) and validate (n = 1002 participants) a model for 6-month mortality.<bold>Results: </bold>Participants' mean age was 81.5 years, 44.4% were women, and 10.5% were nonwhite. There were 266 deaths (8.8%) within 6 months. The final risk model included 15 variables, 4 of which were not included in prior risk models: hearing impairment, mobility impairment, weight loss, and lower patient-reported health status. The model was well calibrated (Hosmer-Lemeshow P > 0.05) and showed good discrimination (area under the curve for the validation cohort = 0.84). Adding functional impairments significantly improved model performance, as evidenced by category-free net reclassification improvement indices of 0.21 (P = 0.008) for hearing impairment and 0.26 (P < 0.001) for mobility impairment.<bold>Limitation: </bold>The model was not externally validated.<bold>Conclusion: </bold>A newly developed model for 6-month post-AMI mortality in older adults was well calibrated and had good discriminatory ability. This model may be useful in decision making at hospital discharge.<bold>Primary Funding Source: </bold>National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]