CLINICAL EPIDEMIOLOGY OF ACUTE MYOCARDIAL-INFARCTION IN SHARJAH, UNITED-ARAB-EMIRATES

Little published information about the clinical epidemiology of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is avail able. To fill this knowledge gap, all patients with confirmed AMI who were treated at the intensive care unit of the Kuwait Hospital, Sharja h, during 1991 were prospectively studied. This hospital, primarily fo r expatriate patients, provides outpatient and hospital care to expatr iates for a nominal fee and to UAE citizens free of charge. It is esti mated that about 80% of all expatriate AMT patients in Sharjah receive initial treatment at this hospital. Of all 153 patients studied, 95.4 % were men and 4.6% were women. Preexisting ischaemic heart disease, h ypertension and diabetes were recorded in 30.2 (39/129), 17.8 (27/152) and 14.6% (22/151) of the patients, respectively. Overall, 73.7% (112 /152) of the patients were current cigarette smokers. Of all 153 patie nts, 48.4, 35.9, 7.2 and 8.5% had anterior, inferior, lateral and 'oth er' types of AMI, respectively. Of 152 patients with available data, 1 5 (9.9%) died in the hospital. In a multivariate logistic regression m odel including all significant univariate correlates of in-hospital de ath (age, nationality, history of hypertension and current smoking pra ctice) as independent variables, only being a current cigarette smoker was significantly related to a lower risk of in-hospital death in the study patients (O.R.=0.27; 95% C.I.: 0.08-0.96). Also, UAE Arab natio nality and preexisting hypertension were notable, though nonsignifican t, positive correlates of in-hospital death in this model. These findi ng should guide future in-depth studies of the clinical epidemiology o f AMI in Shajah and elsewhere in the UAE. Copyright (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.