BACKGROUND - Chinese and U.S. guidelines recommend angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors(ACEIs)/angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) for all patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the absence of contraindications as either a Class I or Class IIa recommendation. Little is known about the use and trends of ACEI/ARB therapy in China over the past decade.

METHODS AND RESULTS - Using nationally representative data from the China Patient-centered Evaluative Assessment of Cardiac Events Retrospective Study of Acute Myocardial Infarction (China PEACE-Retrospective AMI Study), we assessed use of ACEI/ARB therapy in 2001, 2006, and 2011, overall and across geographic regions and strata of estimated mortality risk, and predictors of ACEI/ARB therapy, among patients with Class I indication by Chinese guidelines. The weighted rate of ACEI/ARB therapy increased from 62.0% in 2001 to 71.4% in 2006, decreasing to 67.6% in 2011. Use was low across all 5 geographic regions. By strata of estimated mortality risk, in 2001, rates of therapy increased with increasing risk; however, by 2011, this reversed and those at higher risk were less likely to be treated (70.7% in lowest-risk quintile vs. 63.5% in the highest-risk quintile; P<0.001).

CONCLUSION - One third of Chinese AMI patients with Class I indications do not receive ACEI/ARB therapy during hospitalization, with little improvement in rates over time. Patients at higher mortality risk in 2011 were less likely to be treated, highlighting important opportunities to optimize the use of this cost-effective therapy.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION URL - ClinicalTrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01624883.

© 2015 The Authors. Published on behalf of the American Heart Association, Inc., by Wiley Blackwell.