Acute coronary syndrome in young (≤45 years) patients: An observational study

Background: Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is witnessing a demographic transition with increasing prevalence among younger individuals (≤45 years). Hence, this study was designed to evaluate the clinical features, risk factors, and angiographic profile of young (aged ≤ 45 years) patients with ACS and to compare it with the older (aged >45 years) patients with ACS. Materials and Methods: An observational study was conducted at a tertiary care center in India from July 2020 to December 2021. A total of 157 patients were enrolled, among which 90 patients were included in cases (group-I). The inclusion criteria were patients presenting with ACS aged between 18 and 45 years. There were two control groups, including 34 patients with ACS (aged >45 years) in Group II and 33 healthy volunteers in Group III (aged 18–45 years). Baseline demographic details, risk factors, and angiographic profile of patients with ACS in each group were recorded and compared. Results: Mean age of Group I was 39.79 ± 5.15 years and of Group II was 59.74 ± 8.21 years. Smoking (P = 0.027) and family history of coronary artery disease (P = 0.022) were the significant risk factors of ACS in Group I. Compared to non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (16.7%), ST-elevation myocardial infarction (83.3%) was predominant among younger patients with ACS. Single-vessel disease was prevalent among younger patients (62.2%) as compared to older patients with ACS (41.20%). Conclusion: Younger patients with ACS exhibited a distinct clinical and angiographic profile compared to older patients with ACS.