No abstract

A decline in 6-month mortality of myocardial infarction survivors, seen within 6 hours of symptom onset, has been observed in recent years. Ineligibility for exercise test, early left ventricular failure, and recovery-phase left ventricular dysfunction are the most powerful (RR, > 2) predictors of 6-month mortality among patients recovering from myocardial infarction after thrombolysis. Qualitative variables reflecting residual myocardial ischemia do not appear to be risk predictors. The lack of an independent adverse influence of early post-myocardial infarction angina on 6-month survival represents a major difference between this study and those of the prethrombolytic era.

In patients with first myocardial infarctions who received thrombolytic therapy, age was a powerful independent predictor of both in-hospital and post-discharge mortality rates. The exponential, age-related increase in the mortality rate did not appear to be explained by larger infarcts.

Eudract 2007-005279-32.