Timing and Causes of Death in Acute Myocardial Infarction Complicated by Cardiogenic Shock (from the RETROSHOCK Cohort)

Acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock (AMICS) comprises a heterogeneous population with high mortality. Insight in timing and cause of death may improve understanding of the condition and aid individualization of treatment. This was assessed in a retrospective, multicenter observational cohort study based on 1,716 patients with AMICS treated during the period of 2010 to 2017, of whom 904 died before hospital discharge. Patients with AMICS were identified through national registries and review of individual patients charts. In 904 patients with AMICS who died before hospital discharge (median age 72 years [interquartile range (IQR) 63 to 79], 70% men), 342 (38%) had suffered out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The most frequent cause of death was primary cardiac (54%), whereas 24% died of neurologic injury, and 20% of multiorgan failure (MOF). Time to death was 13 hours (IQR 5 to 43) for heart failure; 140 hours (IQR 95 to 209) in neurologic injury; and 137 hours (IQR 59 to 321) in MOF, p <0.001. The causes of death in patients presenting with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) were: neurologic injury in 57%, as opposed to 4% in patients not presenting with OHCA, p <0.001. In conclusion, in patients with AMICS, cause of death was mainly primary heart failure followed by neurologic injury and MOF. Median time from first medical contact to death was only 13 hours in patients dying from cardiac causes. The risk of dying of neurologic injury was low in patients without OHCA.