Heart failure in acute myocardial infarction: a comparison between patients with or without heart failure criteria from the FAST-MI registry.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES To compare acute myocardial infarction patients with or without congestive heart failure in the French FAST-MI registry. METHODS The French FAST-MI registry included 374 centers and 3059 patients over a 1-month period at the end of 2005, with 1-year follow-up. Among this population, patients with at least one congestive heart failure criterion constituted group 1 (n=1149; 37.5%) and were compared to patients without congestive heart failure (group 2, n=1910; 62.5%). The congestive heart failure patients were further divided according to presence of both beta-blockers and antagonists of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system at hospital discharge (n=511) or not (n=498), in order to assess the real-world clinical importance of recommended medications. RESULTS Overall in-hospital and 1-year mortality rates were 3.4% and 13.2%, respectively. In hospital survivors, presence of congestive heart failure was associated with increased mortality (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.55; 95% confidence interval, 1.10-2.17; P=.01). Survival was higher in patients without congestive heart failure, compared with congestive heart failure patients receiving or not recommended medications (P<.001). Congestive heart failure patients receiving neither renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system blockers nor beta-blockers (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.66; 95% confidence interval, 1.08-2.55; P=.02) had a significantly higher risk of death than patients receiving both classes of medications (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.16; 95% confidence interval, 0.82-1.64; not statistically significant). Patients receiving only one of the recommended classes had an intermediate risk (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.47; 95% confidence interval, 1.04-2.07; P=.03). CONCLUSIONS Patients admitted for acute myocardial infarction with congestive heart failure criteria are still at very high risk of mortality. When receiving major recommended medications, they presented with significantly reduced mortality rates. Additional efforts should therefore be made to encourage the prescription of recommended medications in acute myocardial infarction patients with congestive heart failure.