Abstrakt

An assessment of initial symptoms in patients admitted to the ER of a tertiary healthcare institution and diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction

Mehmet Kayhan, Ahmet Mamur, Ilhami Unluoglu, H

Aim: The aim of this study is to identify the initial symptoms in patients that are admitted to the emergency room (ER) and diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction.

Material and Method: This study was conducted retrospectively based on the medical records of patients aged 18 and over, who were admitted between 1 January and 31 December 2014 to the ER. For the purpose of this study, the researchers recorded the age, gender, initial symptom/symptoms as well as laboratory results including CK-MB, myoglobin and troponin t values of the patients aged 18 and over admitted to the ER and diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction.

Results: This study was conducted with a total of 285 patients whose distribution by gender was as follows: 59 (20.70%) women and 226 (79.30%) men. The average age of patients was 64.03 ± 12.05 years. The most common symptom in patients was chest pain (58.90%). Among 285 patients, the number of patients diagnosed with non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) was 64 (22.50%), and the number of patients diagnosed with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STMI) was 221 (77.50%). The most common comorbidities were hypertension (203 patients, 71.20%), atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCD) (198 patients, 69.50%), hyperlipidemia (163 patients, 57.20%), and diabetes mellitus (DM) (103 patients, 36.10%). Coronary angiography was done in 254 (89.10%) out of 285 patients, and no blockage was not detected in 27 (10.60%) patients. Seen in 161 (63.40%) patients, one blocked artery was the most common blockage.

Conclusion: The symptomatology of myocardial infarction is quite extensive. It should thus be kept in mind that patients with myocardial infarction may present to hospital with atypical symptoms. Patients’ knowledge of particularly atypical MI symptoms is below the average. Enhancing knowledge of atypical symptoms is important especially for avoiding delays in patients’ presentation to the hospital.