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Presenting symptoms, pre-hospital delay time and 28-day case fatality in patients with peripheral arterial disease and acute myocardial infarction from the MONICA/KORA Myocardial Infarction Registry

Background Previous studies have indicated that patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) who have a history of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) have different characteristics and poorer outcomes than patients without PAD. However, data on short-term mortality are conflicting and it is unclear whether patients with PAD have a different scope of AMI symptoms or differences in pre-hospital delay time (PHDT) compared with patients without PAD. The objective of this study was to determine the associations between a history of PAD and presenting AMI symptoms, PHDT and 28-day case fatality in a population-based sample of patients with AMI. Design This was an observational study. Methods Information on history of PAD was obtained from the patients’ medical records and their AMI symptoms were assessed by interviews with patients. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to determine the association of PAD with AMI symptoms and 28-day case fatality. A multivariable linear regression model was developed to examine the relations between PAD and PHDT. Results From the 5848 patients with AMI included in this study, 9.8% had a history of PAD. Patients with PAD were significantly less likely to report chest symptoms (odds ratio (OR) 0.52, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.41–0.66) or pain in the upper left extremity (OR 0.67, 95% CI 0.54–0.84) than patients without PAD. PAD was significantly related with longer PHDT in patients <69 years of age (p = 0.0117) and men (p = 0.0104). A significantly higher 28-day case fatality (OR 2.09, 95% CI 1.47–2.96) was found in patients with PAD compared with patients without PAD. Conclusions Patients with PAD should receive comprehensive education on the possibility of atypical AMI symptoms and the need to call emergency medical services immediately.