A nationwide causal mediation analysis of survival following ST-elevation myocardial infarction

Abstract

Objective: International studies report a decline in mortality following ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The extent to which the observed improvements in STEMI survival are explained by temporal changes in patient characteristics and utilisation of treatments is unknown.

Methods: Cohort study using national registry data from the Myocardial Ischaemia National Audit Project between first January 2004 and 30th June 2013. 232 353 survivors of hospitalisation with STEMI as recorded in 247 hospitals in England and Wales. Flexible parametric survival modelling and causal mediation analysis were used to estimate the relative contribution of temporal changes in treatments and patient characteristics on improved STEMI survival.

Results: Over the study period, unadjusted survival at 6 months and 1 year improved by 0.9% and 1.0% on average per year (HR: 0.991, 95% CI: 0.988 to 0.994 and HR: 0.990, 95% CI: 0.987 to 0.993, respectively). The uptake of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) (HR: 1.025, 95% CI: 1.021 to 1.028) and increased prescription of P2Y₁₂ inhibitors (HR: 1.035, 95% CI: 1.031 to 1.039) were significantly associated with improvements in 1-year survival. Primary PCI explained 16.8% (95% CI: 10.8% to 31.6%) and 13.2% (9.2% to 21.9%) of the temporal survival improvements at 6 months and 1 year, respectively, whereas P2Y₁₂ inhibitor prescription explained 5.3% (3.6% to 8.8%) of the temporal improvements at 6 months but not at 1 year.

Conclusions: For STEMI in England and Wales, improvements in survival between 2004 and 2013 were significantly explained by the uptake of primary PCI and increased use of P2Y₁₂ inhibitors at 6 months and primary PCI only at 1 year.

Trial registration number: NCT03749694.

Keywords: acute coronary syndromes; acute myocardial infarction; electronic medical records; epidemiology; quality and outcomes of care.

Figure 1

Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) diagram showing the derivation of the analytical cohort from the Myocardial Ischaemia National Audit Project dataset.

Figure 2

Temporal trends of comorbidities and risk factors, per month, 2004–2013.

Figure 3

Use of pharmacological therapies at hospital discharge, thrombolysis and primary percutaneous coronary intervention per month, 2004–2013.

Figure 4

Crude all-cause mortality at 6-month and 1-year following hospital discharge, per month, 2004–2013.