Abstract
Shiritus Asahikawa Hospital received a total of 922 patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) from 1961 through 1985. the numbers of AMI patients and deaths during 1981-1985 were 2.8 times and 2.3 times, respectively, those observed during 1971-1975. However, decreasing trends were noted in the overall and age-adjusted mortality due to ischemic heart disease (IHD) per population of 100, 000 Asahikawa residents between 1975 and 1984, suggesting a discrepancy between our CCU data and the city's records. We investigated the prehospital condition, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, and the mechanism of early deaths in patients hospitalized with AMI. It was found that the increase of AMI patients admitted to our hospital was due to an increase in the hospitalization rate of AMI patients and the establishment of the coronary care unit (CCU) which allowed the admittance of patients who might have been declared dead out-of-hospital in the past. On the other hand, the declining trends in IHD mortality in the entire city of Asahikawa were attributable to reductions in the in-hospital and out-of-hospital fatality rates of patients with AMI, to improved hospital fatality rates of patients with AMI, and to improved survival rates in AMI patients who developed ventricular fibrillation (Vf) or who experienced out-of-hospital cardiac arrest episode. In order to further decrease the case-fatality rate of patients with AMI, it is essential to continuously educate residents on emergency treatment to be given at the onset of AMI.
