Patients with diabetes are not more likely to have atypical symptoms when seeking care of a first myocardial infarction. An analysis of 4028 patients in the Northern Sweden MONICA Study

• Published in: Diabetic medicine 2012-07, Vol.29 (7), p.e82-e87
• Main Authors: Ängerud, K. H., Brulin, C., Näslund, U., Eliasson, M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Age Distribution; Aged; Angina Pectoris - epidemiology; Angina Pectoris - etiology; Angina Pectoris - physiopathology; Comorbidity; Diabetes; diabetes mellitus; Female; Gender differences; Heart attacks; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; myocardial infarction; Myocardial Infarction - complications; Myocardial Infarction - epidemiology; Myocardial Infarction - physiopathology; Population Surveillance; Prospective Studies; Risk Factors; sex differences; Sex Distribution; Sweden - epidemiology; symptoms; Time Factors; Women
• ISSN: 0742-3071; 1464-5491; 1464-5491
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1464-5491.2011.03561.x

Diabet. Med. 29, e82–e87 (2012) Aim  To describe symptoms of a first myocardial infarction in men and women with and without diabetes. Methods  We conducted a population‐based study of 4028 people aged 25–74 years, with first myocardial infarction registered in the Northern Sweden Multinational MONItoring of trends and determinants in CArdiovascular disease (MONICA) myocardial infarction registry between 2000 and 2006. Symptoms were classified as typical or atypical according to the World Health Organization MONICA manual. Results  Among patients with diabetes, 90.1% reported typical symptoms of myocardial infarction; the corresponding proportion among patients without diabetes was 91.5%. In the diabetes group, 88.8% of women and 90.8% of men had typical symptoms of myocardial infarction. No differences were found in symptoms of myocardial infarction between women with and without diabetes or between men with and without diabetes. Atypical symptoms were more prevalent in the older age groups (> 65 years) than in the younger age groups (