Sweating: A Specific Predictor of ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction Among the Symptoms of Acute Coronary Syndrome: Sweating In Myocardial Infarction (SWIMI) Study Group.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Today, cardiologists seek to minimize time from symptom onset to interventional treatment for the most favorable results. HYPOTHESIS: In the acute coronary syndrome (ACS) symptom complex, sweating can differentiate ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) from non-ST-segment elevation ACS (NSTE-ACS) during early hours of infarction. METHODS: This single-center, prospective, observational study compared symptoms of STEMI and NSTE-ACS patients admitted from August 2012 to July 2014. RESULTS: Of 12 913 patients, 90.56% met ACS criteria. Among these, 22.51% had STEMI. Typical angina was the most common symptom (83.82%). On stepwise multiple regression, sweating (odds ratio 97.06, 95% confidence interval [CI] 82.16-114.14, P < 0.0001) and typical angina (odds ratio 2.72, 95% CI 2.18-3.38, P < 0.001) had significant association with STEMI. For diagnosis of STEMI, positive likelihood ratio (LR) and positive predictive value (PPV) were highest for typical angina with sweating (LR 11.17, 95% CI 10.31-12.1; PPV 76.09, 95% CI 74.37-77.75), followed by sweating with atypical angina (LR 3.6, 95% CI 3.07-4.21; PPV 50.61, 95% CI 46.45-54.76), typical angina (LR 1.05, 95% CI 1.03-1.07; PPV 22.97, 95% CI 22.11-23.84), and atypical angina (LR 0.77, 95% CI 0.69-0.87; PPV 18.09, 95% CI 16.32-19.97). C statistic values of 0.859 for typical angina with sweating and 0.519 for typical angina alone reflected high discriminatory value of sweating for STEMI prediction. CONCLUSIONS: Presence of sweating with ACS symptoms predicts probability of STEMI, even before clinical confirmation. Sweating in association with typical or atypical angina is a much better predictor of STEMI than NSTE-ACS.