Study of older heart attack patients boosted with NIH grant

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded funding to investigators at Yale University to conduct the “Comprehensive Evaluation of Risk Factors in Older Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction” or “SILVER-AMI” study to better understand what is driving outcomes in patients 75 years and older who have been hospitalized with heart attacks (myocardial infarctions).

Led by Yale associate professor Dr. Sarwat Chaudhry, the five-year SILVER-AMI study will enroll 3,000 patients from 70 sites across the United States. Chaudhry and colleagues hope to provide critical information about the fastest growing segment of the heart attack population — the elderly. Although growing in numbers, elderly patients have historically been excluded from cardiology clinical trials. As a result, clinicians are left with little information about how to best treat such patients, and patients are left with little information about what to expect after their heart attack.

“We have to recognize that elderly heart attack patients are fundamentally different from our younger patients,” said Chaudhry. “It is not acceptable to extrapolate results from studies of younger populations to these patients who are often much more complex and vulnerable to a host of complications.”

In addition to examining traditional medical outcomes, such as hospital readmission, the SILVER-AMI study is also focusing on outcomes that matter most to older patients — including ability to function independently, symptoms, and quality of life.

“Working closely with collaborators across the country, the knowledge we gain from the SILVER-AMI study will help ensure that good science is guiding decisions being made by patients, families, and clinicians,” said Chaudhry.