Life Expectancy after Myocardial Infarction, According to Hospital Performance
Authors' conclusion
In this study, patients admitted to high-performing hospitals after acute myocardial infarction had longer life expectancies than patients treated in low-performing hospitals. This survival benefit occurred in the first 30 days and persisted over the long term.
Study context
- Population
- Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized for acute MI, 1994–1996 (Cooperative Cardiovascular Project), 17 years of follow-up
- Participants
- 119,735 beneficiaries · 1,824 hospitals
- Exposure
- High-performing vs low-performing hospitals
- Outcome
- Life expectancy
- Follow-up
- 17 years
Methodological detailsstratified by hospital case-mix severity (5 strata)
- Stratified by hospital case-mix severity (5 strata)
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Patients at high-performing hospitals lived longer than at low-performing hospitals, depending on hospital case mix
0.74 to 1.14 years
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Life expectancy among 30-day survivors
- No significant difference in unadjusted or adjusted life expectancy across hospital quintiles
Original publication
Life Expectancy after Myocardial Infarction, According to Hospital Performance. N Engl J Med. Published 6 October 2016. doi:10.
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it