The occurrence of ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and non-STEMI in patients with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) using the large nationwide inpatient sample (NIS).

Background: PTSD leads to increased levels of stress hormones and dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system which may trigger cardiac events. The goal of this study is to evaluate any association between PTSD and the occurrence of STEMI and NSTEMI using a large database.

Method: Using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) and ICD-9 codes from 2005 to 2014 (n=1,621,382), we performed a univariate chi-square analysis of in-hospital occurrence of STEMI and NSTEMI in patients greater than 40 years of age with and without PTSD. We also performed a multivariate analysis adjusting for baseline characteristics including age, gender, diabetes, race, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and tobacco use.

Results: The 2005-2014 dataset contained 401,485 STEMI patients (745, or 0.19%, with PTSD) and 1,219,897 NSTEMI patients (2,441, or 0.15%, with PTSD). In the 2005 dataset, 0.5% of PTSD patients had STEMI compared to 1.0% of non-PTSD patients (OR=0.46, 95% C.I., 0.36-0.59). Similarly, 0.6% of patients with PTSD and 2.2% of patients without PTSD had NSTEMI (OR=0.28, 95% C.I., 0.23-0.35). In the 2014 dataset, 0.3% of PTSD patients had STEMI compared to 0.7% of non-PTSD patients (OR=0.43, 95% C.I., 0.35-0.51). Similarly, 1.4% of patients with PTSD versus 2.9% of patients without PTSD had NSTEMI (OR=0.48, 95% C.I., 0.44-0.52). Similar trends were seen throughout the ten-year period. After adjusting for age, gender, diabetes, race, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and tobacco use, PTSD was associated with a lower occurrence of STEMI (2005: OR=0.50, 95% C.I., 0.37-0.66; 2014: OR=0.35, 95% C.I., 0.29-0.43) and NSTEMI (2005: OR=0.44, 95% C.I., 0.34-0.57; 2014: OR=0.63, 95% C.I., 0.58-0.69).

Conclusion: Using a large inpatient database, we did not find an increased occurrence of STEMI or NSTEMI in patients diagnosed with PTSD, suggesting that PTSD is not an independent risk factor for myocardial infarction.