Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of 276 women and 242 men with and without ACS contacting the primary care OHS for chest discomfort
| Women (n=276) | Men (n=242) | |||||
| ACS n=23 (8.3%) |
No ACS n=253 (91.7%) |
P value | ACS n=34 (14.0%) | No ACS n=208 (86.0%) | P value | |
| Mean duration of call, min (SD) | 5.22 (2.53) | 7.26 (3.11) | 0.003 | 6.27 (2.59) | 7.22 (2.51) | 0.087 |
| Mean age in years (SD) | 66.8 (18.0) | 62.8 (15.9) | 0.309 | 68.1 (14.2) | 58.8 (16.1) | 0.224 |
| History of CVD (n=210) | 15 (71.4%) | 94 (50.3%) | 0.066 | 21 (65.6%) | 80 (50.3%) | 0.113 |
| Chest pain (n=455) | 22 (95.7%) | 215 (87.0%) | 0.228 | 34 (100%) | 184 (91.1%) | 0.070 |
| Type of chest pain | ||||||
| Pressing (n=249) | 15 (78.9%) | 131 (58.7%) | 0.084 | 18 (64.3%) | 85 (46.4%) | 0.079 |
| Stabbing (n=90) | 3 (15.8%) | 42 (18.8%) | 0.743 | 1 (3.7%) | 44 (24.0%) | 0.014 |
| Pain location | ||||||
| Left side of the chest (n=107) | 4 (36.4%) | 44 (23.8%) | 0.346 | 7 (46.7%) | 52 (33.1%) | 0.291 |
| Right side of the chest (n=32) | 0 (0%) | 13 (7.0%) | 0.363 | 0 (0%) | 19 (12.1%) | 0.153 |
| Mid-sternal (n=143) | 7 (63.6%) | 78 (42.2%) | 0.163 | 7 (46.7%) | 51 (32.5%) | 0.267 |
| Radiation of the pain to | ||||||
| Arm (n=154) | 9 (60.0%) | 78 (42.4%) | 0.186 | 17 (63.0%) | 50 (33.3%) | 0.003 |
| Back or shoulder (n=124) | 8 (66.7%) | 73 (51.8%) | 0.321 | 6 (46.2%) | 37 (37.0%) | 0.523 |
| Jaw (n=44) | 2 (18.2%) | 25 (17.6%) | 0.961 | 5 (29.4%) | 12 (10.7%) | 0.034 |
| Any radiation (n=295) | 18 (90.0%) | 154 (78.6%) | 0.227 | 25 (89.3%) | 98 (64.9%) | 0.011 |
| Additional symptoms | ||||||
| Dyspnoea (n=219) | 9 (69.2%) | 110 (63.2%) | 0.664 | 10 (47.6%) | 90 (61.6%) | 0.220 |
| Nausea or vomiting (n=141) | 5 (45.5%) | 75 (39.5%) | 0.694 | 11 (42.3%) | 50 (35.2%) | 0.489 |
| Sweating (n=166) | 10 (52.6%) | 72 (35.5%) | 0.138 | 17 (60.7%) | 67 (43.5%) | 0.093 |
ACS, acute coronary syndrome; CVD, cardiovascular disease; n, number of patients; OHS, out-of-hours services.