Clinical characteristics and outcome in patients with a delayed presentation after ST-elevation myocardial infarction and complicated by cardiogenic shock.

Objective: Delayed presentation after ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and complicated by cardiogenic shock (CS-STEMI) is commonly encountered in developing countries and is a challenging scenario because of a delay in revascularization resulting in infarction of a large amount of the myocardium. We aimed to assess the clinical characteristics, angiographic profile, and predictors of outcome in patients with a delayed presentation after CS-STEMI.

Methods: A total of 147 patients with CS-STEMI with time to appropriate medical care ≥12 h after symptom onset were prospectively recruited at a tertiary referral center.

Results: The median time to appropriate care was 24 h (interquartile range 18-48 h). The mean age was 58.7 ± 11.1 years. Left ventricular pump failure was the leading cause of shock (67.3%), whereas mechanical complications accounted for 14.9% and right ventricular infarction for 13.6% of cases. The overall in-hospital mortality was 42.9%. Acute kidney injury [Odds ratio (OR) 8.04; 95% confidence intervals (CI) 3.08-20.92], ventricular tachycardia (OR 7.04; CI 2.09-23.63), mechanical complications (OR 6.46; CI 1.80-23.13), and anterior infarction (OR 3.18; CI 1.01-9.97) were independently associated with an increased risk of mortality. Coronary angiogram (56.5%) revealed single-vessel disease (45.8%) as the most common finding. Percutaneous coronary intervention was performed in 53 patients (36%), at a median of 36 h (interquartile range 30-72) after symptom onset.

Conclusion: Patients with a delayed presentation after CS-STEMI were younger and more likely to have single-vessel disease. We found a high in-hospital mortality of 42.9%. Appropriate randomized studies are required to evaluate the optimal treatment strategies in these patients.