Abstract
Objective: To describe the clinical and paraclinical characteristics of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and to compare differences between two age groups: patients aged ≥80 years and those aged <80 years. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 191 patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction at Thanh Hoa General Hospital between January 2025 and June 2025. Participants were divided into two groups: <80 years (n = 82) and ≥80 years (n = 109). Data were collected using a standardized questionnaire and analyzed with SPSS software. Results: Chest pain (82.2%) and dyspnea (63.2%) were the most common presenting symptoms. The prevalence of chest pain was significantly lower in patients aged ≥80 years compared with those aged <80 years (72.5% vs. 95.1%, p < 0.001). Older patients exhibited a higher prevalence of severe heart failure, as indicated by Killip class ≥ II (16.5%) and NYHA functional class II–IV (36.8%), compared with the younger group (p < 0.05). NT-proBNP levels were significantly higher in the ≥80-year group (6048.8 ± 9261.0 pg/mL) than in the <80-year group (2425.8 ± 4685.2 pg/mL; p = 0.001). Echocardiographic assessment showed a higher proportion of reduced left ventricular ejection fraction in patients aged ≥80 years (31.2% vs. 18.3%, p = 0.034). Coronary angiography revealed that multivessel coronary artery disease was substantially more common in the ≥80-year group (62.4% vs. 31.8%, p < 0.0001), although incomplete coronary stenosis remained the predominant lesion type (73.4%). Conclusions: Acute myocardial infarction in very elderly patients (≥80 years) in Thanh Hoa was characterized by less typical clinical manifestations, significantly elevated NT-proBNP levels, and more diffuse and complex coronary artery disease compared with patients younger than 80 years. These findings highlight the importance of early diagnosis and individualized treatment strategies in elderly patients to improve clinical outcomes.
