Myocardial infarction in Qatar: the first 2515 patients.

The data registry of all patients admitted between 1982 and 1990 to the Coronary Care Unit at Hamad General Hospital with the diagnosis of documented acute myocardial infarction is reviewed. We report a total of 2,515 patients (86.6% men and 13.4% women) with a mean age of 51 years (range 18-99). Of these, 62% were smokers, 29% had diabetes, and 20% had hypertension. The hospital mortality rate was 10%. The most significant factors associated with higher mortality were older age, female gender, and anteroseptal infarction. The age of 23% of the patients was 40 years or younger. Comparison between these younger patients (Group I) and those over 40 years (Group II) demonstrated that Group I had lower mortality (3.6%) than Group II (12%) (p < 0.001). Group I patients were predominantly men (96.8%), of Asian nationalities (71%), and usually smokers (78%). The observation that myocardial infarction occurs frequently in young Asian men needs further evaluation to identify specific risk factors.