Volume 25, Issue 108, February, 2021

Clinical risk factors of acute myocardial infarction in young people: Anxiety in the lead?

Syed Imran Ali Shah^1♦, Mirza Zeeshan Sikandar², Umair Yaqub Qazi³, Inamul Haq⁴

¹Department of Biochemistry, University of Hafr Al-Batin, Hafar Al Batin, Saudi Arabia; ORCID: 0000-0002-0833-0771
²Central Park Medical College, Lahore, Pakistan; ORCID: 0000- 0002-5499-7884
³Department of Chemistry, University of Hafr Al-Batin, Hafar Al Batin, Saudi Arabia; ORCID: 0000-0002-7597-1771
⁴Department of Physiology, University of Hafr Al-Batin, Hafar Al Batin, Saudi Arabia

^♦Corresponding author
Department of Biochemistry, University of Hafr Al-Batin, Hafar Al Batin, Saudi Arabia; Email: simranali@uhb.edu.sa / s.shah10@alumni.imperial.ac.uk

ABSTRACT

Background: Multiple risk factors are associated with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) but local data in young patients are limited. The present study explored risk factors of AMI in young patients. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study (n=224) was conducted on young adults with a recent first AMI and age-matched non-AMI controls. Demographic data, co-morbidities, lifestyle factors, family history, smoking history and anthropometric measures were recorded for each participant. Hamilton anxiety rating scale (HAM-A) was used to assess anxiety levels. Serum cardiac and liver enzymes were also measured. Results: AMI patients showed higher mean anxiety scores (25.16 vs. 13.27, p=0.000) and weekly cigarette consumption (4.32 vs. 0.21, p=0.000). 96.42% of AMI patients had moderate to severe anxiety. Other common risk factors included lack of regular exercise (82.14%), hypertension (HTN, 75%), unhealthy diet (66.08%), renal disease (60.71%), sedentary living (53.57%), diabetes mellitus (51.78%) and smoking (50%). Positive family histories of HTN, DM and AMI were observed in 96.42%, 94.64% and 57.14% of patients respectively. Conclusion: Anxiety is a major risk factor of AMI in young adults besides other conventional risk factors and controlling them may help lessen the burden of AMI.

Keywords: Acute Myocardial Infarction, Smoking, Anxiety, Hypertension, Diabetes Mellitus, Lifestyle

Medical Science, 2021, 25(108), 501-507

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