Differences in Clinical Features in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome and Stroke: Japanese Multicenter Registry Results

OBJECTIVE: Coronary artery and cerebrovascular disease are the main causes of non-communicable diseases. In particular, acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and ischemic stroke are the most serious conditions of coronary artery disease and cerebrovascular disease, respectively. Therefore, it is important to prevent these conditions by identifying populations at high risk of these diseases. We sought to investigate the differences in the clinical features of patients with these atherothrombotic diseases in nationwide Japanese multicenter registries. Gender differences were also examined. METHODS: The dataset of the two nationwide multicenter registries for ACS [Prevention of AtherothrombotiC Incidents Following Ischemic Coronary (PACIFIC)] and ischemic stroke [Effective Vascular Event REduction after STroke (EVEREST)] was analyzed. Clinical features were examined and compared using datasets from the two registries. RESULTS: A total of 6,878 patients (PACIFIC: n=3,426, EVEREST: n=3,452) were evaluated. The patients' background characteristics were significantly different between the two populations. Patients with ACS tended to be younger, had a higher body mass index, had a greater prevalence of diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia, were current smokers, and more often had a prior history of ischemia heart disease than patients with a stroke. Hypertension was more prevalent in patients with stroke than in those with ACS. The differences in patients' background characteristics between ACS and stroke in men were similar to those in the whole sample. However, the prevalence of hypertension in women was similar between the ACS and stroke groups, in contrast to the results from the whole sample. CONCLUSION: Patients' background characteristics were significantly different between those with ACS and stroke. Gender differences were also observed.