Table 1 Characteristics of patients diagnosed with their first acute myocardial infarction in the emergency department by sex and age category
Characteristics | Age 50Â years or younger | Age 51Â years or older | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Male N = 647 | Female N = 175 | Male N = 2646 | Female N = 1391 | |
Age, mean (SD) | 43.4 (6.1) | 43.6 (5.5) | 67.9 (11.0) | 73.8 (11.4)** |
Socioeconomic statusa, % | ||||
 Low | 43.0 | 42.3 | 38.4 | 37.8 |
 Middle | 28.7 | 26.3 | 28.5 | 26.7 |
 High | 28.3 | 31.4 | 33.1 | 35.5 |
Born in Australia, % | 51.3 | 66.3** | 43.6 | 48.2* |
Arrived by ambulance, % | 54.7 | 52.6 | 69.9 | 76.1** |
Arrived within 60Â min of onset of symptoms, % | 21.2 | 10.3** | 13.3 | 9.9* |
Triage urgencyb, % | ||||
 Resuscitation /Emergency | 77.1 | 65.1 | 67.0 | 53.0 |
 All else | 22.9 | 34.9** | 33.0 | 47.0** |
Presenting symptom, % | ||||
 Chest pain | 86.2 | 84.0 | 80.1 | 71.2 |
 Arrhythmia | 6.0 | 5.1 | 7.4 | 7.6 |
 Other (e.g., musculoskeletal, SOB) | 5.6 | 9.1 | 10.7 | 18.8 |
 Referred due to abnormal finding | 2.2 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 2.4** |
Pulse pressure, mean (SD) | 67.5 (20.8) | 63.1 (25.6)* | 76.3 (25.2) | 80.1 (28.0)** |
Heart rate, mean (SD) | 81.1 (14.4) | 85.5 (17.4)** | 81.9 (14.7) | 85.0 (17.1)** |
Time from arrival till examined by a physician in minutes, mean (SD) | 30.9 (52.9) | 49.1 (61.9)** | 46.1 (65.9) | 64.5 (79.4)** |
Discharged from ED to: % | ||||
 CCU or ICU or operating theatre | 78.8 | 69.1 | 70.7 | 60.3 |
 Medical ward | 21.2 | 30.9** | 29.3 | 39.7** |