Five-year prognosis after acute myocardial infarction in relation to a history of hypertension

This study described the prognosis during 5 years of follow-up after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) for patients with a history of hypertension. All patients, regardless of age and whether or not they were admitted to the coronary care unit, were hospitalized in a single hospital due to AMI during a period of 21 months. Overall, 290 (34%) of the 862 AMI patients had a history of hypertension. Hypertensive patients had an overall 5-year mortality rate of 58% v 49% among nonhypertensive patients (P <.05). In a multivariate analysis considering age, gender, and a previous history of cardiovascular diseases, a history of hypertension was not an independent predictor of either the total mortality or mortality after discharge from hospital. The mode of death and the place of death appeared to be similar in hypertensive and nonhypertensive patients. Reinfarction developed in 43% of hypertensive patients versus 31% of nonhypertensive patients (P <.01) and a history of hypertension was an independent predictor of reinfarction (P <.05). In consecutive patients admitted to a single hospital due to AMI, a history of hypertension did not appear as an independent predictor of mortality, but it did appear as an independent predictor of reinfarction during 5 years of follow-up.