Open AccessObjectives: To evaluate risk factors in myocardial infarction like age, sex, smoking, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, positive family history, high level of cholesterol, stress and poor physical activity.
Methods: This is a retrospective study on 163 myocardial infarction cases, conducted in the cardiology ward and CCU at a General Public Hospital, Baroda. A number of risk factors identified and evaluated in these patients included: hyperlipidemia, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, smoking, physical activity, stress, age, and sex.
Results: The majority of our patients were old men in the age range of 60 - 69 years. Amongst all patients 36.7% were smokers, 61.3% were type A personality group, 18.5% were active, 81.5% were physically inactive, 28.9% had hypertension, 23.3% were diabetic, 17.5% had hyperlipidemia and 33.2% had positive family history of myocardial infarction.
Conclusions: In regard of increasing rate of cardiovascular diseases and myocardial infarction even amongst the young population, and because of considerable need to improve vascular risk detection, much research over the past decade has focused on identification of novel atherosclerotic risk factors, and some of these new risk factors are identified and some may be unknown. Amongst the new risk factors, inflammation has an important role, other risk factors that must be assessed are homocysteine, serum amyloid. So we recommend that governments and heart associations must introduce new plans and policies in order to tackle the problem and reduce the frequency of cardiovascular disease. This requires the understanding of the conventional or classic risk factors and also the less known and new risk factors and ways which they may be prevented.