The regional myocardial infarction registry of Saxony-Anhalt (RHESA) in Germany – rational and study protocol

BACKGROUND: In 2012 the age-standardized acute myocardial infarction (AMI) mortality rate was in the federal state Saxony-Anhalt 67 deaths per 100.000 whereas in Germany the AMI-rate was 47 deaths per 100.000. The rate in Saxony-Anhalt was therefore 43 % above the national average. Many factors may explain this above-average AMI mortality rate: First, the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors (e.g. arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, smoking) in Saxony-Anhalt is the highest among all the Federal States of Germany. Second, structural health care for patients with AMI is potentially deficient (e.g. insufficient number of percutaneous coronary intervention-centers or deficits in the pre-hospital logistics of care). Third, the pre- and in-hospital process quality of health care for patients with AMI is possibly insufficient (e.g. time to reperfusion therapy). In July 2013 we established the regional myocardial infarction registry of Saxony-Anhalt (Regionales Herzinfarktregister in Sachsen-Anhalt, RHESA). RHESA is a population-based registry in the eastern part of Germany. Aims of RHESA are to calculate the AMI morbidity and mortality rates. Furthermore we study the factors that may potentially influence these rates in Saxony-Anhalt. METHODS: RHESA is a population-based registry of patients with fatal or non-fatal AMI that was established in July 2013. The registry population comprises inhabitants aged 25 years or more of the city of Halle (Saale) (n = 179.000) and inhabitants of the rural district Altmark (n = 165.000) in the federal state Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. DISCUSSION: The main objectives of RHESA are to provide detailed estimates of the burden of AMI in Saxony-Anhalt which is the federal state with the highest AMI mortality rate in Germany and to investigate factors that influence morbidity and mortality rates due to AMI. Data collected in RHESA enable us to assess different levels of quality of health care of patients with AMI (structural, process and outcome). RHESA provides for the first time estimates of the burden of AMI in Saxony-Anhalt, and therefore contributes considerably to an improvement of the German Health Monitoring that strives for a more valid extrapolation of the nationwide morbidity and mortality rates of AMI. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12872-015-0040-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.