Nationwide trends in development of heart failure and mortality after first-time myocardial infarction 1997-2010: A Danish cohort study.

Abstract Aims Pharmacological and revascularization strategies following myocardial infarction (MI) have changed substantially during the last two decades. We investigated the temporal trends in heart failure (HF) incidence and mortality during the first 90 days following first-time MI between 1997 and 2010 in Denmark. Methods and results Through administrative nationwide registers we identified 89,389 patients without prior HF hospitalized with first MI. The number of patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) days 0–1 after index MI increased from 2.5% in 1997–98 to 38.2% in 2009–10. Treatment with clopidogrel increased from 0.02% in 1997–98 to 68.1% in 2009–10 and statins from 8.1% in 1997–98 to 78.3% in 2009–10. The incidence of HF (defined as HF diagnosis or incident use of loop diuretics) decreased from 23.6% in 1997–98 to 19.6% in 2009–10 (p  Conclusion We found a temporal decrease in HF incidence and mortality during the first 90 days after MI in 1997–2010. This could partly be explained by changes in interventional and pharmacological treatment strategies.