BACKGROUND

There is growing concern about increasing rates of obesity in young people, and increasing ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) at a younger age. There are only a few studies performed to study the risk factors in STEMI among young populations.

METHODS

Retrospective chart reviews on all first event STEMI patients between December 2005 and July 2007 were performed. A young population was defined as: men <45 years of age and women <55 years of age.

RESULTS

Among 206 patients with STEMI, 36 were young. In young patients with STEMI, 78 % were obese compared with 35 % obese, non-young (p<0.001). Also, among young patients with STEMI, family history of coronary heart disease (CHD) was positive in 39 %, compared with 19 % in non-young patients (p=0.009). This significance for obesity and family history persisted after adjusting for other risk factors using logistic regression (OR 2.96 to 17.75, 95 % CI, p<0.0001 and OR 1.36 to 7.47, 95 % CI, p=0.008, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Obesity and family history of CHD were major risk factors with a higher prevalence in young patients with STEMI than non-young patients.