Epidemiology and Risk Factorsof Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the most important cause of death worldwide. The incidence and outcome of risk factors differ by type of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The aim of the present study was to determine the epidemiology and risk factors of patients with ACS in Iran.

This is a cross-sectional descriptive study, which was conducted at the Heart Center Hospital, Iran on patients presenting with ACS for a period of one year. An interviewer collected data using an administered data collection form, and epidemiological patterns and risk factors were analyzed by SPSS. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Chi-square test were used to analyze the hypothesized patterns.

The sample included 710 patients diagnosed with ACS, with Mean±SD age of 60.4±10.27 years, of whom 509 cases (71%) were men and 201 cases (29%) were women. Regarding the type of ACS, 51% of patients were diagnosed with unstable angina (UA), 22% with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), and 27% with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Nearly, 37% of cases with STEMI diagnosis, 22.6% with NSTEMI diagnosis, and 16.3% with UA diagnosis were smokers, which indicates a significant association between smoking and STEMI diagnosis (P=0.003). According to the body mass index, a large percentage of the patients were overweight (49%) and only 20.7% had normal body weight. Almost 60% of cases with UA diagnosis, 57% with NSTEMI diagnosis, and 50.5% with STEMI diagnosis had hypertension (HT) (P=0.455), indicating no significant association between hypertension and UA, NSTEMI, and STEMI. About 59% of patients with NSTEMI, 53.2% of patients with UA, and 52% of patients with STEMI had dyslipidemia (P=0.569), indicating no significant association between dyslipidemia and UA, NSTEMI, and STEMI. About 40% of cases with NSTEMI, 37% with STEMI, and 33% with UA diagnosis had diabetes mellitus (P=0.508), indicating no significant association between diabetes mellitus and UA, NSTEMI, and STEMI.

Regarding the occurrence and effect of risk factors, there are three types of ACS. It is necessary to plan to enhance the health level of these patients. Therefore, patients with ACS need special attention in order to be identified and treated as soon as possible.