Comparison of Takotsubo syndrome with acute myocardial infarction in Spain using hospital discharge data (MBDS).

OBJECTIVE: To compare the profiles and outcomes of patients with Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI). DESIGN: A retrospective observational study (2016-2022). Multilevel risk adjustments. SETTING: Acute hospitals of the Spanish National Health System (SNS). PATIENTS: Hospitalization episodes using the SNS Minimum Basic Data Set (MBDS). INTERVENTIONS: TTS episodes without a recorded imaging procedure were excluded. VARIABLES OF INTEREST: Crude and risk-adjusted hospital mortality and readmissions at 30 days due to circulatory causes. RESULTS: 4,112 TTS episodes and 275,835 AMI episodes were identified. Significant differences were observed in terms of age, gender, and associated comorbidities. The crude hospital mortality rate was 2.9% for TTS episodes compared to 7.2% for AMI episodes (p < 0.001). After adjusting for confounders, the risks of mortality (OR: 0.34; CI: 0.28-0.41; p < 0.01) and readmission in the first month due to circulatory system diseases (OR: 0.48; CI: 0.39-0.6; p < 0.01) were significantly lower in patients with TTS. The predictors of mortality and hospital readmission differed between the two disorders. CONCLUSIONS: TTS differs from AMI in its clinical characteristics. Risk-adjusted hospital mortality and 30-day readmissions due to circulatory causes were lower in patients with TTS than in those with AMI.