BACKGROUND - Aspirin is an effective, safe, and inexpensive early treatment of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) with few barriers to administration, even in countries with limited healthcare resources. However, the rates and recent trends of aspirin use for the early treatment of AMI in China are unknown.

METHODS AND RESULTS - Using data from the China Patient-centered Evaluative Assessment of Cardiac Events Retrospective Study of Acute Myocardial Infarction (China PEACE-Retrospective AMI Study), we identified a cohort of 14 041 patients with AMI eligible for early aspirin therapy. Early use of aspirin for AMI increased over time (78.4% in 2001, 86.5% in 2006, and 90.0% in 2011). However, about 15% of hospitals had a rate of use of <80% in 2011. Treatment was less likely in patients who were older, presented with cardiogenic shock at admission, presented without chest discomfort, had a final diagnosis of non-ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction, or did not receive reperfusion therapy. Hospitalization in rural regions was also associated with aspirin underuse.

CONCLUSIONS - Despite improvements in early use of aspirin for AMI in China, there remains marked variation in practice and opportunities for improvement that are concentrated in some hospitals and patient groups.

© 2014 The Authors. Published on behalf of the American Heart Association, Inc., by Wiley Blackwell.