| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2927278 | IJC Metabolic & Endocrine | 2014 | 5 Pages |
•Information on the prognosis of stress cardiomyopathy (SCM) is based on case series.•We used a retrospective cohort design to assess prognosis among SCM vs. STEMI women.•Multivariate analyses showed that SCM women had lower mortality rates over 24 months.•Rates of cardiovascular readmissions however were similar between STEMI and SCM women.•Women with SCM deserve close clinical follow-up after hospital discharge.
Background/objectivesThere is limited information on the prognosis of stress cardiomyopathy (SCM) after hospital discharge. The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to determine the post-discharge prognosis of women with SCM compared to female controls with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).MethodsSCM cases were identified through chart reviews of women hospitalized at a single tertiary care medical center between 2002 and 2012. Controls were randomly selected (2:1 ratio) among women admitted with a validated diagnosis of STEMI during the same period. The primary outcome was a composite of cardiovascular readmissions and death from any cause. Risk of the composite outcome was estimated from multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression models.ResultsOver an average follow-up of 24 months, incidence rates of the composite outcome were 140/1000 person-years among cases (n = 50) and 347/1000 person-years among controls (n = 100; P < 0.001). SCM women had a lower unadjusted risk of cardiovascular readmissions and death vs. STEMI women (HR: 0.47; 95% CI: 0.27, 0.82). This difference in risk was reduced after adjustment for demographic and clinical confounders (HR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.30, 1.33). The lower risk of developing the composite outcome among SCM women was driven by a lower risk of death, while the risk of cardiovascular readmissions was similar between groups.ConclusionRisk of death and cardiovascular readmissions post-discharge was lower among women with SCM than among women with STEMI. Incidence rates of cardiovascular readmissions, however, were similar, indicating that SCM may not be a benign condition.
