Characteristics and outcomes following myocardial infarction in patients with schizophrenia

Abstract Background Patients with schizophrenia are a high-risk population due to a high prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors that translates into increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Purpose To describe the characteristics of patients with schizophrenia experiencing a myocardial infarction (MI) and to analyse the 1-year major adverse cardiac events (MACE: all-cause mortality, reinfarction, stroke and heart failure) and prescriptions of guideline-recommended secondary preventive treatments at hospital discharge. Methods All patients with schizophrenia who experienced a MI in the period between 2000–2017 were identified and included from the SWEDEHEART registry and compared to patients without schizophrenia. Uni- and multivariable Cox proportional hazards and Kaplan-Meier survival models were used to compare the populations. Results The main results are shown in Table 1. Compared to the general population (n=285,325), patients with schizophrenia (n=1,008) were younger (63 vs 71 years), had a higher smoking burden and prevalence's of diabetes, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder and major bleeding (all p-values <0.05). On the contrary, lower prevalence's of diagnosed hypertension, hyperlipideamia, previous myocardial infarction, renal disease and peripheral artery disease were seen in this population. Lastly, patients with schizophrenia were less likely to be discharged with aspirin, P2Y12 inhibitors, ACE-inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers, beta blockers and statins (all p-values <0.005). Table 1. Clinical endpoints at 5-years for patients with schizophrenia following a MI compared to patients without schizophrenia End-points Unadjusted HR (95% CI) Adjusted HR (95% CI) Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 MACE 1.35 (1.23–1.47)* 2.44 (2.23–2.67)* 2.20 (1.79–2.72)* 2.05 (1.63–2.58)* Mortality 1.44 (1.31–1.59)* 2.99 (2.72–3.29)* 2.53 (2.00–3.21)* 2.38 (1.84–3.09)* Reinfarction 1.00 (0.82–1.24) 1.53 (1.25–1.89)* 1.41 (0.86–2.30) 1.29 (0.77–2.13) Stroke 1.03 (0.80–1.34) 1.67 (1.29–2.17)* 1.72 (1.00–2.97) 1.72 (1.00–2.98) Heart failure 1.25 (1.10–1.42)* 2.14 (1.88–2.42)* 1.49 (1.13–1.98)* 1.39 (1.04–1.86)* *p<0.005. Model 1: adjusted for age and sex; Model 2: adjusted for age and sex, smoking, comorbidities, previous CAG and previous PCI; Model 3: adjusted for age and sex, smoking, comorbidities, previous CAG and previous PCI, discharge medications and treatment with CAG and PCI. Conclusion Patients with schizophrenia remain a high-risk population who experience a MI almost 10 years earlier than patients without schizophrenia and have worse outcome. Improved primary and secondary preventive measures are urgently warranted.