The prognosis for patients admitted to a coronary care unit due to suspected acute myocardial infarction with and without confirmed diagnosis.

In a retrospective study the incidence of AMI and death after discharge from CCU have been recorded in 67 patients with and 93 without a diagnosis of AMI confirmed in the CCU. No statistically significant differences were found between the two groups in mortality rate during the first 3 years, 18.3% (non-AMI) and 22.4% (AMI), or in cardiac events, sudden death and AMI, 19.3% (non-AMI) and 24.9% (AMI), during the first 2 years after discharge. Non-AMI patients with either previous AMI, angina pectoris or ST-T abnormalities in the ECG accounted for the major part of cardiac events in this group. The mortality rates in the two groups, compared to a normal population matched for sex and age, were in the AMI group in the 1st year 13.4 and 2.6% (p less than 0.01), in the 2nd year 3.4 and 2.8% (p greater than 0.05), in the 3rd year 7.1 and 2.9% (p greater than 0.05) and in the non-AMI group in the 1st year 11.8 and 1.8% (p less than 0.01), in the 2nd year 3.7 and 2.0% (p greater than 0.05), in the 3rd year 3.8 and 2.1% (p greater than 0.05). It is concluded that the prognosis after discharge from the CCU is as unfavourable for patients without as for patients with AMI. The mortality is highest during the first 6-12 months after discharge.