Table 1.
Patient Characteristics Before Myocardial Infarction
| Variable (N (%)) or (mean (± SD)) | All Users (N = 14,612) | New Users (N = 6,385) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACEI (N = 12,485) | ARB (N = 2,127) | P-value | ACEI (N = 5,724) | ARB (N = 661) | P-value | |
| New Jersey PAAD | 4,504 (83.9) | 866 (16.1) | — | 2,037 (87.4) | 294 (12.6) | — |
| New Jersey Medicaid | 1,046 (89.9) | 117 (10.1) | — | 489 (92.4) | 40 (7.6) | — |
| Pennsylvania PACE | 6,935 (85.8) | 1,144 (4.2) | — | 3,198 (90.7) | 327 (9.3) | — |
| Age | 79.9 (± 7.1) | 80.4 (± 7.1) | .003 | 80.0 (± 7.0) | 80.2 (± 7.1) | .46 |
| Male gender | 3,156 (25.3) | 382 (18.0) | <.001 | 1,506 (26.3) | 132 (20.0) | <.001 |
| White race | 11,182 (89.6) | 1,905 (89.6) | .74 | 5,174 (90.4) | 588 (89.0) | .46 |
| Black race | 810 (6.5) | 144 (6.8) | 330 (5.8) | 42 (6.4) | ||
| Other race | 493 (4.0) | 78 (3.7) | 220 (3.8) | 31 (4.7) | ||
| Nursing home in year before MI | 1,045 (8.4) | 151 (7.1) | .05 | 396 (6.9) | 29 (4.4) | .01 |
| Hospital days in year before MI | 4.6 (± 10.3) | 4.6 (± 9.6) | .74 | 3.1 (± 8.2) | 2.4 (± 6.3) | .01 |
| Number of physician visits in year before MI | 9.7 (± 7.1) | 11.0 (± 7.3) | <.001 | 8.8 (± 6.5) | 10.0 (± 6.9) | <.001 |
| Coronary artery disease | 10,217 (81.8) | 1,823 (85.7) | <.001 | 4,420 (77.2) | 529 (80.0) | .10 |
| Congestive heart failure | 4,899 (39.2) | 938 (44.1) | <.001 | 1,448 (25.3) | 187 (28.3) | .10 |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 2,992 (24.0) | 592 (27.8) | <.001 | 1,217 (21.3) | 143 (21.6) | .82 |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 2,778 (22.3) | 480 (22.6) | .75 | 1,067 (18.6) | 127 (19.2) | .72 |
| Hypertension | 8,164 (65.4) | 1,622 (76.3) | <.001 | 3,212 (56.1) | 426 (64.5) | <.001 |
| Atrial fibrillation | 2,198 (17.6) | 439 (20.6) | <.001 | 713 (12.4) | 95 (14.4) | .16 |
| Obesity | 356 (2.9) | 88 (4.1) | .001 | 113 (2.0) | 19 (2.9) | .12 |
| Diabetes | 5,820 (46.6) | 1,051 (49.4) | .02 | 2,303 (40.2) | 269 (40.7) | .82 |
| Arthritis | 4,246 (34.0) | 770 (36.2) | .05 | 2,073 (36.2) | 245 (37.1) | .67 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 434 (3.5) | 113 (5.3) | <.001 | 110 (1.9) | 18 (2.7) | .16 |
| Dialysis or kidney transplantation | 82 (0.7) | 26 (1.2) | .04 | 30 (0.5) | 4 (0.6) | .69 |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 3,600 (28.8) | 703 (33.1) | <.001 | 1,520 (26.6) | 205 (31.0) | .01 |
| Malignancy | 765 (6.1) | 113 (5.3) | .14 | 333 (5.8) | 47 (7.1) | .18 |
| Dementia | 959 (7.7) | 153 (7.1) | .43 | 397 (6.9) | 32 (4.8) | .04 |
| Depression | 1,598 (12.8) | 288 (13.5) | .35 | 714 (12.4) | 81 (12.3) | .87 |
| Alcohol abuse | 333 (2.7) | 52 (2.4) | .55 | 119 (2.1) | 13 (2.0) | .85 |
| Other mental disease | 1,040 (8.3) | 165 (7.8) | .37 | 454 (7.9) | 47 (7.1) | .46 |
| Prescriptions filled before MI | ||||||
| Total number of different drugs | 10.9 (± 6.2) | 12.8 (± 6.6) | <.001 | 9.3 (± 5.6) | 10.5 (± 6.0) | <.001 |
| α-receptor blocker | 696 (5.6) | 153 (7.2) | .003 | 314 (5.5) | 40 (6.1) | .55 |
| ACE inhibitor | 6,462 (51.8) | 558 (26.2) | <.001 | — | — | — |
| ARB | 462 (3.7) | 1,121 (52.7) | <.001 | — | — | — |
| ACE inhibitor or ARB | 6,761 (54.2) | 1,466 (68.9) | <.001 | — | — | — |
| Antiplatelet drugs (ticlopidine, clopidogrel) | 665 (5.3) | 230 (10.8) | <.001 | 202 (3.5) | 43 (6.5) | <.001 |
| β-receptor blocker | 3,010 (24.1) | 645 (30.3) | <.001 | 1,590 (27.8) | 203 (30.7) | .11 |
| Calcium-channel blocker | 5,789 (46.3) | 1,096 (51.5) | <.001 | 2,635 (46.0) | 347 (52.5) | .002 |
| Centrally acting antihypertensive drug | 593 (4.8) | 142 (6.7) | <.001 | 232 (4.1) | 33 (5.0) | .25 |
| Diuretic | 1,371 (11.0) | 324 (15.2) | <.001 | 447 (7.8) | 65 (9.8) | .07 |
| Statin | 2,951 (23.6) | 731 (34.4) | <.001 | 1,062 (18.6) | 181 (27.4) | <.001 |
| Nitrate | 5,479 (43.9) | 996 (46.8) | .003 | 2,006 (33.1) | 254 (38.4) | .09 |
| Warfarin | 1,527 (12.2) | 294 (13.8) | .04 | 473 (8.3) | 63 (9.5) | .27 |
ACEI, angiotensin converting enzyme-inhibitors; ARB, angiotensin-II-receptor blockers; MI, myocardial infarction; PAAD, Pharmaceutical Assistance for the Aged and Disabled; PACE, Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract for the Elderly.