Risk factors of late cardiogenic shock and mortality in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients

The incidence of cardiogenic shock (CS) in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is as high as 10%. The majority of patients are thought to develop CS after admission (late CS), but the incidence in a contemporary STEMI cohort admitted for primary percutaneous intervention remains unknown.

The aim of this study was to assess the incidence and time of CS onset in patients with suspected STEMI admitted in two high-volume tertiary heart centres and to assess the variables associated with the development of late CS.

We included consecutive patients admitted for acute coronary angiography with suspected STEMI in a 1-year period. Cardiogenic shock was based on clinical criteria and subdivided into patients with shock on admission, patients developing shock during catheterisation and patients developing shock later during hospitalisation. Follow-up for all-cause mortality was done using registries.

A total of 2247 patients with suspected STEMI were included, whereof 225 (10%) developed CS. The majority (56%) had CS on admission, 16% developed CS in the catheterisation laboratory and 28% developed late CS. Thirty-day mortality was 3.1% versus 47% in non-CS versus CS patients (p_logrank < 0.0001). Age, stroke, time from symptom onset to intervention, anterior STEMI, heart rate/systolic blood pressure ratio and being comatose after resuscitation from cardiac arrest were independently associated with the development of late CS.

In this study, 10% of patients admitted with suspected STEMI for acute coronary angiography presented with or developed CS. Most were in shock on admission. Irrespective of the timing of shock, mortality was high.