OBJECTIVES - This study sought to compare the clinical characteristics and long-term outcomes of patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) with and without cardiogenic shock (CS) or cardiac arrest (CA) before percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

BACKGROUND - Patients with STEMI complicated by CS or CA are underrepresented in STEMI registries.

METHODS - Consecutive patients with stemi or new left bundle branch block within 24 h of symptom onset were included in a regional STEMI program comprising a PCI center (Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital), 11 hospitals <60 miles from PCI center (zone 1), and 19 hospitals 60 to 210 miles from PCI center (zone 2). No patients were excluded. Patients were stratified based on the presence (+) or absence (–) of CS or CA before PCI. Patients with CA were further classified based on initial rhythm. Primary outcomes were in-hospital and 5-year mortality.

RESULTS - Between March 2003 and December 2014, 4,511 STEMI patients were included in the regional program, including 398 (9%) with CS and 499 (11%) with CA. Hospital mortality was: CS+ and CA+, 44%; CS+ and CA–, 23%; CS– and CA+, 19%; and CS– and CA–, 2% (p < 0.001). The 5-year survival probability for CS+ and CA+ patients was 0.69 (95% confidence interval: 0.61 to 0.76) and 0.89 (95% confidence interval: 0.84 to 0.93), respectively (p < 0.01). Compared with patients with shockable rhythms, CA patients with nonshockable rhythms had significantly lower odds of survival at hospital discharge and at 5 years (both p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS - The combination of CS and CA significantly increases short-term mortality in patients with STEMI. After 5 years of follow-up, CS patients remained at high risk of fatal events, whereas the prognosis of CA patients was determined by initial rhythm at presentation.