Acute myocardial infarction and coronary artery bypass grafting outcomes in specialty and general hospitals: analysis of state inpatient data.

Objective: Compare characteristics and outcomes of patients hospitalized in specialty cardiac and general hospitals for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

Data: 2000-2005 all-payor administrative data from Arizona, California, Texas, and Wisconsin.

Study Design: We identified patients admitted to specialty and competing general hospitals with AMI or CABG and compared patient demographics, comorbidity, and risk-standardized mortality in specialty and general hospitals.