Health care contact is higher in the week preceding a first myocardial infarction: A review of medical records in Northern Sweden in 2007.

Background: Prodromal symptoms before myocardial infarction (MI) are common, but there are limited data regarding health care contact prior to the acute onset of MI and the impact of gender on early presentation to health care.

Aims: The purpose of this study was to describe and analyse prodromal symptoms reported in medical records and study health care contact in the week before the acute onset of MI in comparison to the general population.

Methods: From the Northern Sweden MONICA Study we accessed the medical records of 359 patients aged 32-74 years with a first MI in the county of Norrbotten in 2007. We identified those patients' health care contact during the seven days before the MI and compared them with the weekly number of contacts in the general population aged 45-74 years in the county during 2007.

Results: We found that 23.1% of the women and 17.6% of the men had at least one contact the week before the MI. With the exception of the 14 women aged 45-55 years, health care consumption in both women and men in all age groups between 45- 74 years of age was 75%-165% higher in the week prior to the MI than in the general population of the same ages. In the first health care contact, pain-related symptoms were most frequent (43%), and fatigue was present in 8% of patients. There were no differences between women and men in health care consumption or presenting symptoms.

Conclusion: Both women and men with a first MI are in contact more frequently than the general population in the week prior to the event.