Comparison of coronary heart disease extent and severity in patients with myocardial infarction and angina pectoris

PURPOSE: To compare the severity of the coronary heart disease and the presence of coronary risk factors between angina and myocardial infarction (MI) patients. METHODS: We studied 62 patients with MI and 129 with angina through coronary angiography to evaluate occlusion (lesion of 99% or 100%), extent (with a score of 0-5 derived by the number of vessels affected) and severity (3 groups of different stenosis degrees). Two experient observers blindly interpretated the angiograms. RESULTS: Patients with MI had more occlusions (50% vs 13.2% [p90% stenosis [p<0.02]) and more extent (2.0 vs 0.87 [p<0.001]), even when controlled for current coronary risk factors and disease duration. Smoking was the only independent risk factor related to MI (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Among the studied patients, coronary heart disease extent and severity was greater in the MI group, as well as the prevalence smoking.