CV Therapeutics Announces Archives of Internal Medicine Publication of Study Showing 20 Percent of Heart Attack Patients in Premier Registry Experienced Angina a...(lsuffered angina and many of them suffer...),Health

"Angina is often underappreciated by physicians and significantly impacts patients' quality of life. The PREMIER study is important in that it highlights the need for better surveillance and treatment of angina to improve patients' quality of life," he added.

American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association treatment guidelines indicate that the goals for angina patients include the complete, or nearly complete, elimination of chronic angina and an improvement in functional capacity that allows a return to normal activities.

About the PREMIER Study

The PREMIER study included 2,498 U.S. patients with acute MI, recruited from 19 hospitals from January 1, 2003, through June 28, 2004. Among this multicenter cohort of patients, angina was measured by the Seattle Angina Questionnaire one year after hospitalization for MI. Investigators evaluated the sociodemographic factors, clinical history, MI presentation, inpatient treatments and outpatient treatments associated with angina at one year.

Of 1,957 post-MI patients, 389 (19.9 percent) reported angina one year after MI. Among the outpatient variables, patients with angina at one year were more likely to continue smoking, to undergo revascularization after index hospitalization (percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary artery bypass graft) and to have significant new, persistent or transient depressive symptoms.

The study was supported, in part, by grants from the National Institutes of Health and CV Therapeutics.

About Angina

Chronic angina is a serious and debilitating heart condition, usually associated with coronary artery disease and marked by repeated and sometimes unpredictable attacks of chest pain. Approximately 9.
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