Baseline characteristics of participants hospitalised for an acute coronary syndrome in two academic hospitals (intervention sites, study sites A and B) in Switzerland in the observation phase (August 2009–October 2010) and intervention phase (November 2010–February 2012)
| Intervention sites (A and B) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Observation phase | Intervention phase | ||
| n=233 | n=225 | p Value | |
| Demographic variables | |||
| Age, years (mean±SD) | 57±11 | 55±11 | 0.06 |
| Female, n (%) | 46 (20) | 45 (20) | 0.9 |
| Education, less than university degree, n (%)* | 203 (88) | 185 (83) | 0.1 |
| Living alone | 68 (29) | 55 (24) | 0.3 |
| Working status, employed, n (%) | 136 (59) | 143 (64) | 0.3 |
| Previous CHD, n (%) | 46 (20) | 37 (16) | 0.3 |
| Smoking variables | |||
| Cigarettes per day (median, Q1, Q3) | 20 (10, 25) | 20 (10, 25) | 0.5 |
| Age at smoking start (mean±SD) | 19±6 | 18±6 | 0.6 |
| Clinical variables | |||
| ACS-type: | |||
| STEMI (vs NSTEMI/UA), n (%) | 121 (52) | 116 (52) | 0.9 |
| Hospital stay | |||
| Length of stay, median (Q1, Q3), in days | |||
| For patients directly discharged home | 5 (3,6) | 5 (4,7) | 0.04 |
| For patients transferred to peripheral hospital | 1 (0.5, 1) | 1 (0.5, 2) | 0.3 |
| Treatment at discharge | |||
| Destination at discharge, n (%) | |||
| Home | 148 (64) | 138 1) | |
| Direct transfer to cardiac rehabilitation | 47 (20) | 39 (17) | 0.3 |
| Transfer to peripheral hospital | 36 (16) | 47 (21) | |
| Prescription of all recommended drug therapy at discharge† | 222 (95) | 216 (96) | 0.6 |
| Attendance to cardiovascular rehabilitation assessed at discharge and 12 months follow-up (n, %)‡ | 136 (58) | 163 (73) | <0.01 |
| Ambulatory vs stationary§ | 74 (56) | 109 (67) | 0.05 |
*Six participants with missing information on education status or who refused to disclose their education status.
†Concomitant prescription at discharge unless contraindicated or not indicated for aspirin, clopidogrel/prasugrel or ticagrelor if percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) - stent treatment, β-blocker, statin, angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) if LVEF ≤40%. When participants transferred to peripheral hospital, β-blocker and ACEI/angiotensin receptor II antagonist (ATII) coded as not applicable.
‡Both ambulatory and stationary cardiovascular rehabilitation are covered after an ACS in Switzerland. Attendance rate computed using data on direct referral to in-patient CR and on self-reported attendance at 1 year follow-up in order to capture information on those directly transferred to a stationary CR and those attending CR in the ambulatory setting.
§Three participants with missing information on type of CR.
CHD, coronary heart disease; CR, cardiac rehabilitation; LVEF, left ventricular ejection fraction; n, number of participants; NSTEMI, non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction; Q1, first quartile; Q3, third quartile; STEMI, ST segment elevation myocardial infarction.