Long‐Term Mortality of Older Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction Treated in US Clinical Practice

Background There is limited information about the long‐term survival of older patients after myocardial infarction (MI). Methods and Results CRUSADE (Can rapid risk stratification of unstable angina patients suppress adverse outcomes with early implementation of the ACC/AHA guidelines) was a registry of MI patients treated at 568 US hospitals from 2001 to 2006. We linked MI patients aged ≥65 years in CRUSADE to their Medicare data to ascertain long‐term mortality (defined as 8 years post index event). Long‐term unadjusted Kaplan–Meier mortality curves were examined among patients stratified by revascularization status. A landmark analysis conditioned on surviving the first year post‐MI was conducted. We used multivariable Cox regression to compare mortality risks between ST‐segment–elevation myocardial infarction and non–ST‐segment–elevation myocardial infarction patients. Among 22 295 MI patients ≥ age 65 years (median age 77 years), we observed high rates of evidence‐based medication use at discharge: aspirin 95%, β‐blockers 94%, and statins 81%. Despite this, mortality rates were high: 24% at 1 year, 51% at 5 years, and 65% at 8 years. Eight‐year mortality remained high among patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (49%), coronary artery bypass graft (46%), and among patients who survived the first year post‐MI (59%). Median survival was 4.8 years (25th, 75th percentiles 1.1, 8.5); among patients aged 65–74 years it was 8.2 years (3.3, 8.9) while for patients aged ≥75 years it was 3.1 years (0.6, 7.6). Eight‐year mortality was lower among ST‐segment–elevation myocardial infarction than non–ST‐segment–elevation myocardial infarction patients (53% versus 67%); this difference was not significant after adjustment (hazard ratio 0.94, 95% confidence interval, 0.88–1.00). Conclusions Long‐term mortality remains high among patients with MI in routine clinical practice, even among revascularized patients and those who survived the first year.