Abstract
Background: Many older patients undergo therapy with nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), medications that produce effects on platelets and inflammation similar to those produced with aspirin. The impact of these agents on mortality after acute myocardial infarction is not known. We sought to determine whether the use of NSAIDs alone, or in addition to aspirin, is associated with a lower 1-year mortality rate in elderly patients after acute myocardial infarction. Methods: We performed an analysis of the Cooperative Cardiovascular Project, a retrospective medical record review that included demographic and clinical information for Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized with a diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction during 1994 and 1995. The cohort included 48,584 elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction without contraindications to NSAID or aspirin therapy. There were 736 patients (1.5%) who were prescribed NSAIDs alone, 36,211 (74.5%) prescribed aspirin alone, 2096 (4.3%) prescribed both NSAIDs and aspirin, and 9541 (19.6%) prescribed neither medication at discharge. Results: Compared with patients discharged with neither medication, prescriptions of NSAID therapy alone (hazard ratio [HR], 0.77; 95% Cl, 0.65-0.90), aspirin alone (HR, 0.81; 95% Cl, 0.77-0.86), and both medications (HR, 0.78; 95% Cl, 0.69-0.88) were associated with lower adjusted 1-year mortality rates. Compared with patients prescribed NSAID therapy at discharge, there was no significant benefit associated with the addition of aspirin, and the benefit of NSAID therapy was not significantly different from that of aspirin alone. Conclusion: The prescription of NSAID therapy at hospital discharge for elderly Medicare beneficiaries who survived acute myocardial infarction was associated with similarly lower 1-year mortality rates as compared with aspirin therapy. The addition of aspirin to NSAID therapy was not associated with an additional survival benefit.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 475-481 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | American Heart Journal |
| Volume | 143 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2002 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The analyses upon which this publication is based were performed under Contract Number 500-96-P549, entitled “Utilization and Quality Control Peer Review Organization for the State of Connecticut,” sponsored by the Health Care Financing Administration, Department of Health and Human Services. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of Health and Human Services, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the US Government. The author assumes full responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the ideas presented. This article is a direct result of the Health Care Quality Improvement Program initiated by the Health Care Financing Administration, which has encouraged identification of quality improvement projects derived from analysis of patterns of care, and therefore required no special funding on the part of this Contractor. Ideas and contributions to the author concerning experience in engaging with issues presented are welcomed.