P6206Death, debility, and destitution following recurrent myocardial infarction in older adults
Abstract Background Most prior research on outcomes among older adults with established cardiovascular diseases focuses on recurrent events and hospitalizations. However, older adults value financial security and functional independence in addition to these disease-focused metrics. Recurrent cardiovascular events may increase risk of long-term nursing home residence and financial strain. Purpose To compare the risk for death, debility (long-term residence in a nursing home), and destitution (eligibility for health insurance programs for impoverished individuals) among older adults with recurrent myocardial infarction (MI) and controls. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study using administrative data from the United States Medicare program, a health insurance program for older adults. Among all patients who experienced a first overnight hospitalization with a discharge diagnosis of MI between 1 January 2007 and 30 June 2016, we identified patients with a recurrent MI hospitalization. Additionally, we selected controls from the same population of patients with MI, matched on calendar year of the initial MI and days since the initial MI. We included 194,481 patients aged 66 years and older with recurrent MI hospitalizations and 777,924 controls. Patients were followed for death, debility, and destitution until 31 December 2016. We used Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for sociodemographic factors, comorbidities, and healthcare utilization to compare patients with recurrent MI and matched controls. Results The average age of the population was 80.0 (standard deviation 8.3) years and 56.7% were women. Patients with recurrent MI were more likely to have a history of diabetes, chronic kidney disease, heart failure and peripheral artery disease than controls. The cumulative incidence of death, debility, and destitution were all higher among patients with recurrent MI than their matched controls (Figure). Comparing patients with recurrent MI to controls, the hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) were 2.11 (2.09–2.13) for death, 0.92 (0.89–0.94) for debility, and 1.34 (1.29–1.39) for destitution after multivariable adjustment. Death, debility, and destitution Conclusion Preventing recurrent MIs has the potential to reduce not only mortality but also destitution. Acknowledgement/Funding Amgen, Inc