Prognostic evaluation by clinical exercise test scores in patients treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention or fibrinolysis for acute myocardial infarction (a Danish Trial in Acute Myocardial Infarction-2 Sub-Study)

Am J Cardiol. 2007 Oct 1;100(7):1074-80. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2007.05.026. Epub 2007 Jul 19.

Abstract

The prognostic accuracy of exercise testing after myocardial infarction is low, and different models have been proposed to enhance the predictive value for subsequent mortality. This study tested a simple score against 3 established scores. Patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarctions were randomized in the Danish Trial in Acute Myocardial Infarction-2 (DANAMI-2) to either primary percutaneous coronary intervention or fibrinolysis with predischarge exercise testing. Clinical and exercise test data were collected prospectively and were available for 1,115 patients. A simple score was derived, awarding 1 point for history or new signs of heart failure, 1 point for a left ventricular ejection fraction <40%, 1 point for age >65 years in men and age >70 years in women, and 1 point for exercise capacity <5 METs in men and exercise capacity <4 METs in women. This DANAMI score was compared with the Veterans Affairs Medical Center score, the Duke treadmill score, and the Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio Della Sopravvivenza nell'Infarto Miocardico-2 (GISSI-2) score in multivariate Cox models and receiver-operating characteristic plots. All scoring systems were predictive of adverse outcomes. The DANAMI score performed better, with greater chi-square values (142 vs 53 to 88 for the prediction of death). Areas under the receiver-operating characteristic curves were compared and were larger for the DANAMI score (C-statistic 0.79 vs 0.71 to 0.74 for the other tests regarding mortality). The DANAMI score stratified patients into a small high-risk group (8% of the population with 43% mortality in 6 years), an intermediate-risk group (13% with 16% mortality in 6 years), and a low-risk group (79% with 4% mortality in 6 years). In conclusion, a simple exercise test score composed of age, METs, heart failure, and a left ventricular ejection fraction <40% seems to outperform the Duke treadmill score, Veterans Affairs Medical Center score, and GISSI-2 score in risk stratifying patients after myocardial infarction and deserves further evaluation.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary*
  • Exercise Test*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Myocardial Infarction / diagnosis*
  • Myocardial Infarction / therapy*
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Prognosis
  • Thrombolytic Therapy*