Long-Term Trend in the Incidence of Acute Myocardial Infarction in Korea: 1997-2007

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Information about disease incidence is indispensable for the active prevention and control of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The purpose of this study was to provide basic information for the establishment of policy related to AMI by examining the long-term trends in incidence of AMI. SUBJECTS AND METHODS This study identified the trend in disease incidence during between 1997 and 2007 using the Korean National Health Insurance Database that includes AMI {the 10th International Classification of Disease (ICD-10) code: I21, I22, I23, I250, I251} as a primary or secondary disease. RESULTS The attack and incidence rates for AMI in 2007 were 118.4 and 91.8 per 100,000 persons, respectively, and the rates more than doubled for the 11 years. Both rates were higher among males than females and increased more in the older age groups. Incidence cases accounted for most of the total attack cases every year; however, in recent years the proportion of relapse cases was on the rise. The case fatality rate was highest (14.5%) in 2000, and declined rapidly to 9.8% in 2007. The case fatality rate was higher among females than males and the older age groups; in particular, female patients >/=65 years of age had the highest fatality rate. CONCLUSION This study showed that AMI has been on the rise in Korea for 11 years. Therefore, the establishment of policy for intensive control of the incidence of AMI is necessary by building a continuous monitoring and surveillance system.