OBJECTIVETo analyze the clinical features of patients with premature acute coronary syndrome(ACS).

METHODSThree hundreds and forty seven patients with ACS who underwent coronary angiography from January 2011 to June 2013 in our department were included in this study. Eligible patients were divided into premature group (pre-group, male < 55 years old, female < 65 years old, n = 140) and non-premature group(N-pre group, male ≥ 55 years old, female ≥ 65 years old, n = 207). The cardiovascular risk factors, coronary angiography (CAG) features, complications and in-hospital mortality were analyzed.

RESULTSCompared to N-pre group, the pre-group had a significantly higher rate of smoking [56.4% (79/140) vs. 44.4% (92/207), P < 0.05], dyslipidemia [61.4% (86/140) vs. 50.2% (104/207), P < 0.05] and positive family history of coronary artery disease [39.3% (55/140) vs. 24.6% (51/207), P < 0.01]. However, other traditional cardiovascular risk factors were less (3.03 ± 1.28 vs. 3.91 ± 1.30, P < 0.01). CAG identified higher incidence of one-vessel and double-vessel diseases (63.6%, 89/140) in pre-group, but the incidence of multi-vessel diseases (57.0%, 118/207) was more frequent in N-pre group . Moreover, the pre-group had a higher rate of coronary artery occlusion [45.7% (64/140) vs. 34.8% (72/207), P < 0.05]. Compared with N-pre group, the pre-group had a lower Gensini Score of CAG (46.2 ± 33.2 vs. 60.4 ± 37.5, P < 0.01) and a lower rate of heart failure[4.3% (6/140) vs. 11.1% (23/207), P < 0.05] during hospitalization. In-hospital mortality rate was similar between the two groups [0 vs. 1.9% (4/207), P > 0.05].

CONCLUSIONSmoking, dyslipidemia and family history of coronary artery disease are major risk factors for patients with premature ACS, these patients are more likely to have milder coronary artery stenosis and a lower incidence of heart failure compared to N-pre group.