Poor prognosis of patients presenting with symptomatic myocardial infarction but without chest pain

OBJECTIVE To describe the clinical features, prognosis, and treatment of patients presenting with atypical forms of acute myocardial infarction. DESIGN Consecutive cases of possible acute myocardial infarction were sought from coronary care registers, biochemistry records, and hospital management systems. Case notes were reviewed and predefined epidemiological and clinical variables were abstracted. SETTING 20 adjacent hospitals in the former Yorkshire region. PATIENTS 3684 consecutive cases of possible acute myocardial infarction admitted in a three month period were identified, of whom 2096 had a first episode of confirmed acute myocardial infarction. RESULTS 20.2% of all patients admitted with an eventual diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction presented with symptoms other than chest pain. Compared with the group presenting with chest pain, these patients were older (76.6v 69.1 years, p