Dr. Hadii Mamudu, Professor in the East Tennessee State University (ETSU) College of Public Health Department of Health Services Management and Policy and the Director for the Center for Cardiovascular Risk Research (CCRR) is co-author of an article in Angiology. The article is titled “Factors Associated With Myocardial Infarction in a Rural Population With Peripheral Arterial Diseases.”
Adeola Awujoola of the Bronxcare Health System, an alumnus of ETSU College of Public Health, is lead author of the article. David Stewart, Ghaith Husari, Krishna Singh, and Timir Paul of CCRR are co-authors. Additional co-authors include members of the Life Health Center, the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, and the University of California.
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) studies in rural populations are limited. The incidence of myocardial infarction (MI) or heart attack is higher in patients with peripheral arterial disease. This study examined the association between sociodemographic and clinical risk factors and MI in patients with peripheral arterial disease in Central Appalachia, comprising of 230 counties across six states in the United States. Data from electronic medical records of 13,455 patients with peripheral arterial disease were extracted from Ballad Health. The final sample consisted of 5574 patients, of whom 24.85% were also diagnosed with myocardial infarction.
The average patient age was 71 and over half of the subjects were male. Patients with hypertension had three times higher odds of MI compared with those without hypertension. The likelihood of myocardial infarction in patients with peripheral arterial disease increased by 51% among patients with diabetes, 34% among ever-smokers, and 45% in males. Hypertension, diabetes, smoking, and male sex were identified as significant risk factors for myocardial infarction in patients with peripheral arterial disease . Screening and effective management of these risk factors in rural areas could potentially prevent myocardial infarction incidence among patients with peripheral arterial disease.