Prognostic Factors

Higher left ventricular ejection fraction was protective after STEMI, consistent with its known prognostic value. Family history of premature coronary disease was associated with improved survival after STEMI. Valve intervention, higher LVEF, age below 60 years, and palpitations were protective factors. Prognostic factors are distinct from predictive markers because the focus is solely on factors associated with future outcomes regardless of any treatment effect. A large retrospective analysis of over 2 million STEMI admissions found that patients with a family history of coronary artery disease had lower in-hospital mortality than those without (1.4% vs 8.1%, adjusted OR 0.42). Patients aged 85 years or older had up to nine times lower probability of surviving five years than patients aged 50 years or younger. Age, comorbidities, subtype, functional status, pulmonary hypertension, renal insufficiency, LVEF, and intervention status were more important prognostic determinants than sex alone. Nomenclature for prognostic factors is inconsistent in the literature, with terms including predictors, risk factors, prognostic variables, determinants, and covariates used interchangeably. Se…