STEMI-Related Cardiogenic Shock Has Declined in the United States

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF.—Advances in the treatment of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) have led to a gradual 10-year decline in cases of STEMI-related cardiogenic shock.

Mohammad Reza Movahed, MD, PhD, of the University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center in Tucson, and colleagues used data from 52,784,917 patients in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database between 1996 and 2006 to calculate the age-adjusted incident rate of cardiogenic shock.

Analysis showed a slow but steady decrease from 4.3 per 100,000 patients in 1996 to 3.1 per 100,000 patients in 2006 (P≤.01). A parallel decline was seen for both men and women (P<.01) and across ethnicities.

“Improved care of patients with CAD is most likely the main cause for this decline, in addition to faster door-to-balloon time and possibly better community awareness, which can lead to an earlier ED visit when [symptoms] occur,” Movahed told TCT Daily.

Another abstract by Movahed and colleagues presented at TCT 2011 showed a decline in cardiogenic shock-related mortality.

“This is most likely due to the same reasons, as well as more aggressive use of supportive care and cardiac supportive devices,” Movahed said.