Clinical characteristics of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander emergency department patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome

• Published in: Emergency medicine Australasia 2023-06, Vol.35 (3), p.442-449
• Main Authors: Stephensen, Laura, Greenslade, Jaimi, Starmer, Katrina, Starmer, Greg, Stone, Richard, Bonnin, Robert, Brazzale, Anthony, Drahm‐Butler, Tileah, Campbell, Virginia, Davis, Tania, Mowatt, Elizabeth, Brown, Nathan, Proctor, Karlie, Ashover, Sarah, Milburn, Tanya, McCormack, Louise, Graves, Nicholas, Gatton, Michelle, Mahoney, Ray, Parsonage, William, Cullen, Louise
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: acute coronary syndrome; Acute Coronary Syndrome - diagnosis; Australia; Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples; chest pain; emergency service; Female; heart disease risk factors; hospital; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; oceanic ancestry group; Queensland - epidemiology; Referral and Consultation
• ISSN: 1742-6731; 1742-6723
• DOI: 10.1111/1742-6723.14138

Objectives To describe the demographics, presentation characteristics, clinical features and cardiac outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients who present to a regional cardiac referral centre ED with suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Methods This was a single‐centre observational study conducted at a regional referral hospital in Far North Queensland, Australia from November 2017 to September 2018 and January 2019 to December 2019. Study participants were 278 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people presenting to an ED and investigated for suspected ACS. The main outcome measure was the proportion of patients with ACS at index presentation and differences in characteristics between those with and without ACS. Results ACS at presentation was diagnosed in 38.1% of patients (n = 106). The mean age of patients with ACS was 53.5 years (SD 9.5) compared with 48.7 years (SD 12.1) in those without ACS (P = 0.001). Patients with ACS were more likely to be male (63.2% vs 39.0%, P