Table 1.
Crude population referral rates to cardiology consultations by age group and sex (per 1,000 population).
| Age Groups | Under 65 | Over 65 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | Men | Women | P-valuea | Men | Women | P-valuea |
| Reference population | 152,475 | 156,293 | 30,281 | 45,909 | ||
| Referrals by symptom | n = 1,403 (9.2%) | n = 1,560 (10%) | n = 1,049 (34.6%) | n = 1,962 (42.7%) | ||
| Chest pain | 295 (21%) | 286 (18%) | 0.065 | 170 (16%) | 292 (15%) | 0.3 |
| Population adjusted (per 1,000) | 1.9 | 1.8 | 0.474 | 5.6 | 6.4 | 0.132 |
| ECG abnormalities | 360 (26%) | 208 (13%) | <0.001 | 207 (20%) | 248 (13%) | <0.001 |
| Population adjusted (per 1,000) | 2.4 | 1.3 | <0.001 | 6.8 | 5.4 | 0.007 |
| Palpitations | 222 (16%) | 438 (28%) | <0.001 | 67 (6.4%) | 229 (12%) | <0.001 |
| Population adjusted (per 1,000) | 1.5 | 2.8 | <0.001 | 2.2 | 5.0 | <0.001 |
| Dyspnea | 101 (7.2%) | 137 (8.8%) | 0.11 | 130 (12%) | 479 (24%) | <0.001 |
| Population adjusted (per 1,000) | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.019 | 4.3 | 10.4 | <0.001 |
| Syncope | 140 (10%) | 152 (9.7%) | 0.8 | 152 (14%) | 169 (8.6%) | <0.001 |
| Population adjusted (per 1,000) | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.720 | 5.0 | 3.7 | 0.003 |
| Atrial fibrillation | 31 (2.2%) | 20 (1.3%) | 0.053 | 146 (14%) | 216 (11%) | 0.019 |
| Population adjusted (per 1,000) | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.065 | 4.8 | 4.7 | 0.999 |
| Heart murmur | 74 (5.3%) | 135 (8.7%) | <0.001 | 75 (7.1%) | 158 (8.1%) | 0.4 |
| Population adjusted (per 1,000) | 0.5 | 0.9 | <0.001 | 2.5 | 3.4 | 0.010 |
| Others | 180 (13%) | 184 (12%) | 0.4 | 102 (9.7%) | 171 (8.7%) | 0.4 |
| Population adjusted (per 1,000) | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.999 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 0.358 |
| Total | 9.2 | 10.0 | 0.015 | 34.6 | 42.7 | <0.001 |
a
Calculated using the Chi-square test.