Clinical characteristics of patients with myocardial infarction treated in the regional hospital of Radomszczanski District in 2007-2009.

Background: Cardiovascular diseases are responsible for about 50% of deaths in Poland. The clinical picture of coronary heart disease has been changing over recent years.

Aim: To assess the changes of the clinical characteristics of myocardial infarction (MI) in the population of Radomszczanski District in 2007-2009.

Methods: The retrospective analysis included 756 patients aged between 29 and 93 years (306 women), who were hospitalised due to MI in the Department of Cardiology, District Hospital in Radomsko from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2009. The following parameters were analysed: frequency of ST elevation MI (STEMI) and non ST elevation MI (NSTEMI) hospitalisations in subsequent years, age, gender, traditional risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, obesity, hypercholesterolaemia, hypertriglyceridaemia, smoking), comorbidities (atrial fibrillation, previous stroke and MI, chronic renal insufficiency) and all-cause in-hospital mortality.

Results: Observations have shown that during 2007-2009 the number of hospitalised STEMI increased (p = 0.011) while the number of hospitalised NSTEMI decreased (p = 0.011). The incidence of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and dyslipidaemia did not change over the three years analysed (p > 0.05). In Radomszczanski District, compared to the Polish population, hypertension, obesity and previous MI occurred less frequently, especially in patients with NSTEMI. The incidence of smoking and diabetes was comparable to that in the Polish population with MI. Frequency of risk factors did not change over three years.

Conclusions: Despite the increase of the hospitalised STEMI/NSTEMI ratio, the incidence of risk factors did not change in the population of Radomszczanski District over the analysed period.