Clinical Frailty Scale classes are independently associated with 6-month mortality for patients after acute myocardial infarction.

AIMS: Data on the prognostic value of frailty to guide clinical decision-making for patients with myocardial infarction (MI) are scarce. To analyse the association between frailty classification, treatment patterns, in-hospital outcomes, and 6-month mortality in a large population of patients with MI. METHODS AND RESULTS: An observational, multicentre study with a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data using the SWEDEHEART registry. In total, 3381 MI patients with a level of frailty assessed using the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS-9) were included. Of these patients, 2509 (74.2%) were classified as non-vulnerable non-frail (CFS 1-3), 446 (13.2%) were vulnerable non-frail (CFS 4), and 426 (12.6%) were frail (CFS 5-9). Frailty and non-frail vulnerability were associated with worse in-hospital outcomes compared with non-frailty, i.e. higher rates of mortality (13.4% vs. 4.0% vs. 1.8%), cardiogenic shock (4.7% vs. 2.5% vs. 1.9%), and major bleeding (4.5% vs. 2.7% vs. 1.1%) (all P < 0.001), and less frequent use of evidence-based therapies. In Cox regression analyses, frailty was strongly and independently associated with 6-month mortality compared with non-frailty, after adjustment for age, sex, the GRACE risk score components, and other potential risk factors [hazard ratio (HR) 3.32, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.30-4.79]. A similar pattern was seen for vulnerable non-frail patients (fully adjusted HR 2.07, 95% CI 1.41-3.02). CONCLUSION: Frailty assessed with the CFS was independently and strongly associated with all-cause 6-month mortality, also after comprehensive adjustment for baseline differences in other risk factors. Similarly, non-frail vulnerability was independently associated with higher mortality compared with those with preserved functional ability.

Randomized evaluation of beta blocker and ACE-inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker treatment in patients with myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA-BAT): Rationale and design.

Myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA) is common and occurs in 6-8% of all patients fulfilling the diagnostic criteria for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). This paper describes the rationale behind the trial 'Randomized Evaluation of Beta Blocker and ACE-Inhibitor/Angiotensin Receptor Blocker Treatment (ACEI/ARB) of MINOCA patients' (MINOCA-BAT) and the need to improve the secondary preventive treatment of MINOCA patients. METHODS: MINOCA-BAT is a registry-based, randomized, parallel, open-label, multicenter trial with 2:2 factorial design. The primary aim is to determine whether oral beta blockade compared with no oral beta blockade, and ACEI/ARB compared with no ACEI/ARB, reduce the composite endpoint of death of any cause, readmission because of AMI, ischemic stroke or heart failure in patients discharged after MINOCA without clinical signs of heart failure and with left ventricular ejection fraction ≥40%. A total of 3500 patients will be randomized into four groups; e.g. ACEI/ARB and beta blocker, beta blocker only, ACEI/ARB only and neither ACEI/ARB nor beta blocker, and followed for a mean of 4 years. SUMMARY: While patients with MINOCA have an increased risk of serious cardiovascular events and death, whether conventional secondary preventive therapies are beneficial has not been assessed in randomized trials. There is a limited basis for guideline recommendations in MINOCA. Furthermore, studies of routine clinical practice suggest that use of secondary prevention therapies in MINOCA varies considerably. Thus results from this trial may influence future treatment strategies and guidelines specific to MINOCA patients.

Long-Term Effects of Oxygen Therapy on Death or Hospitalization for Heart Failure in Patients With Suspected Acute Myocardial Infarction

Background: In the DETO2X-AMI trial (Determination of the Role of Oxygen in Suspected Acute Myocardial Infarction), we compared supplemental oxygen with ambient air in normoxemic patients presenting with suspected myocardial infarction and found no significant survival benefit at 1 year. However, important secondary end points were not yet available. We now report the prespecified secondary end points cardiovascular death and the composite of all-cause death and hospitalization for heart failure. Methods: In this pragmatic, registry-based randomized clinical trial, we used a nationwide quality registry for coronary care for trial procedures and evaluated end points through the Swedish population registry (mortality), the Swedish inpatient registry (heart failure), and cause of death registry (cardiovascular death). Patients with suspected acute myocardial infarction and oxygen saturation of ≥90% were randomly assigned to receive either supplemental oxygen at 6 L/min for 6 to 12 hours delivered by open face mask or ambient air. Results: A total of 6629 patients were enrolled. Acute heart failure treatment, left ventricular systolic function assessed by echocardiography, and infarct size measured by high-sensitive cardiac troponin T were similar in the 2 groups during the hospitalization period. All-cause death or hospitalization for heart failure within 1 year after randomization occurred in 8.0% of patients assigned to oxygen and in 7.9% of patients assigned to ambient air (hazard ratio, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.84­1.18; P=0.92). During long-term follow-up (median [range], 2.1 [1.0­3.7] years), the composite end point occurred in 11.2% of patients assigned to oxygen and in 10.8% of patients assigned to ambient air (hazard ratio, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.88­1.17; P=0.84), and cardiovascular death occurred in 5.2% of patients assigned to oxygen and in 4.8% assigned to ambient air (hazard ratio, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.87­1.33; P=0.52). The results were consistent across all predefined subgroups. Conclusions: Routine use of supplemental oxygen in normoxemic patients with suspected myocardial infarction was not found to reduce the composite of all-cause mortality and hospitalization for heart failure, or cardiovascular death within 1 year or during long-term follow-up. Clinical Trial Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01787110.