Treatment of elderly patients with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction: the nationwide POPular age registry

Marieke E. Gimbel*, Dean R. P. P. Chan Pin Yin, Wout W. A. van den Broek, Renicus S. Hermanides, Floris Kauer, Annerieke H. Tavenier, Dirk Schellings, Stijn L. Brinckman, Salem H. K. The, Martin G. Stoel, Ton A. C. M. Heestermans, Saman Rasoul, Mireille E. Emans, Machiel van de Wetering, Paul F. M. M. van Bergen, Ronald Walhout, Debby Nicastia, Ismail Aksoy, Arnoud van 't Hof, Paul KnaapenCees-Joost Botman, Anho Liem, Cornelis de Nooijer, Joyce Peper, Johannes C. Kelder, Jurrien M. ten Berg

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

ObjectiveWe describe the current treatment of elderly patients with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) enrolled in a national registry.MethodsThe POPular AGE registry is a prospective, multicentre study of patients >= 75 years of age presenting with NSTEMI, performed in the Netherlands. Management was at the discretion of the treating physician. Cardiovascular events consisted of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction and ischaemic stroke. Bleeding was classified according to the Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) criteria.ResultsA total of 646 patients were enrolled between August 2016 and May 2018. Median age was 81 (IQR 77-84) years and 58% were male. Overall, 75% underwent coronary angiography, 40% percutaneous coronary intervention, and 11% coronary artery bypass grafting, while 49.8% received pharmacological therapy only. At discharge, dual antiplatelet therapy (aspirin and P2Y12 inhibitor) was prescribed to 56.7%, and 27.4% received oral anticoagulation plus at least one antiplatelet agent. At 1-year follow-up, cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction or stroke had occurred in 13.6% and major bleeding (BARC 3 and 5) in 3.9% of patients. The risk of both cardiovascular events and major bleeding was highest during the 1st month. However, cardiovascular risk was three times as high as bleeding risk in this elderly population, both after 1 month and after 1 year.ConclusionsIn this national registry of elderly patients with NSTEMI, the majority are treated according to current European Society of Cardiology guidelines. Both the cardiovascular and bleeding risk are highest during the 1st month after NSTEMI. However, the cardiovascular risk was three times as high as the bleeding risk.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)84-90
Number of pages7
JournalNetherlands Heart Journal
Volume32
Issue number2
Early online date1 Sept 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2024

Keywords

  • Antiplatelet therapy
  • Non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction
  • Elderly
  • Therapy
  • DUAL ANTIPLATELET THERAPY
  • ACUTE CORONARY SYNDROMES
  • OPEN-LABEL
  • CLOPIDOGREL
  • OUTCOMES
  • TICAGRELOR
  • PRASUGREL
  • OLDER
  • VALIDATION
  • STRATEGY

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