Prognostic impact of blood pressure and heart rate at admission on in-hospital mortality after primary percutaneous intervention for acute myocardial infarction with sT-segment elevation in western Romania

Background: The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the prognostic impact of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and heart rate (HR) on in-hospital mortality in ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients, after primary percutaneous intervention (PCI). Patients and methods: The study included 294 patients admitted for STEMI. They were divided into five groups according to the SBP at admission: group I, < 105 mmHg; group II, 105-125 mmHg; group III, 126-140 mmHg; group IV, 141-158 mmHg; and group V, [greater than or equal to]159 mmHg. Increased HR was defined as [greater than or equal to]80 beats per minute (bpm). In-hospital death was defined as all-cause death during admission and classified into cardiac and noncardiac death. Results: Among the 294 patients admitted for STEMI, 218 (74%) were men. The mean age was 62[+ or -]17 years. In-hospital mortality rate was 6% (n=18), with 11 (3.7%) deaths having cardiac causes. The highest mortality was registered in group I (n=9, 16%, P=0.018). Compared to the other groups, group I patients were older (P=0.033), more often smokers (P=0.026), and had a history of myocardial infarction (P=0.003), systemic hypertension (P=0.023), diabetes (P=0.041), or chronic kidney disease (P=0.0200). They more often had a HR $80 bpm (P=0.028) and a Killip class 3 or 4 at admission (P=0.020). The peak creatine phosphokinase-MB level was significantly higher in this group (P=0.005), while the angiographic findings more often identified as culprit lesions were the right coronary artery (P=0.005), the left main trunk (P=0.040), or a multivessel coronary artery disease (P=0.044). Multivariate analysis showed that group I patients had a significantly higher risk for both all-cause death (P=0.006) and cardiac death (P=0.003). Patients with HR [greater than or equal to]80 bpm also had higher mortality rates (P=0.0272 for general mortality and P=0.0280 for cardiac mortality). Conclusion: The present study suggests that SBP < 105 mmHg and HR [greater than or equal to]80 bpm at admission of STEMI patients are associated with a higher risk of in-hospital death, even after primary PCI. Keywords: blood pressure, heart rate, STEMI, primary PCI, outcome