PRESENTING CHARACTERISTICS, TREATMENT PATTERNS, AND CLINICAL OUTCOMESOF NON-BLACK MINORITIES IN THE NATIONAL-REGISTRY OF MYOCARDIAL-INFARCTION-2

Data from a national registry (cohort) of myocardial infarction, which has enrolled 275,046 patients from June 1994 to April 1996, were anal yzed to compare the baseline demographic and clinical characteristics, treatment patterns, and clinical outcomes among Hispanics, Asian-Paci fic islanders, and native Americans with those of white Americans pres enting to the hospital with acute myocardial infarction. Non-black min orities were younger, had a higher proportion of men, used the emergen cy medical services less frequently, and presented later to the hospit al after the onset of symptoms (135 vs 122 minutes, p <0.001) than whi tes. Also, non-black minorities were less likely to receive beta-block er therapy at discharge (crude odds ratio 0.86, confidence interval 0. 82 to 0.90) than whites, but they were generally as likely to receive intravenous thrombolytic therapy (with the exception of Asian-Pacific islanders) and undergo both coronary arteriography and revascularizati on procedures as their white counterparts. There were no significant d ifferences in hospital mortality for non-black minorities compared wit h whites. (C)1998 by Excerpta Medica, Inc.