Mortality, Revascularization, and Cardioprotective Pharmacotherapy After Acute Coronary Syndrome in Patients With Psychotic Disorders: A Population-Based Cohort Study

Ischemic heart disease is the leading cause of mortality in psychotic disorders. There is a paucity of research comprehensively evaluating short-term mortality, cardiovascular complications, and treatment inequality after cardiac events in patients with psychotic disorders. This population-based cohort study examined 30-day and 1-year all-cause mortality, cardiovascular complication rates, 30-day and 1-year receipt of invasive cardiac procedures, and 90-day post-discharge cardioprotective medication treatment following admission for first-recorded acute coronary syndrome (ACS) among patients with psychotic disorders (n = 703) compared with patients without psychotic disorders (n = 66 989) between January 2006 and December 2016 in Hong Kong (HK). Study data were retrieved from territory-wide medical record database of public healthcare services to 7.5 million HK residents. Multivariate regression analyses (ORs and 95% CIs), adjusting for demographics and medical comorbidities, were conducted to evaluate associations between psychotic disorders and post-ACS outcomes. Our results showed that patients with psychotic disorders had higher 30-day (OR: 1.99 [95% CI: 1.65-2.39]) and 1-year (2.13 [1.79-2.54]) mortality, and cardiovascular complication rates (1.20 [1.02-1.41]), lower receipt of cardiac catheterization (30-d: 0.54 [0.43-0.68]; 1-y: 0.46 [0.38-0.56]), percutaneous coronary intervention (30-d: 0.55 [0.44-0.70]; 1-y: 0.52 [0.42-0.63]) and reduced β-blockers (0.81 [0.68-0.97]), statins (0.54 [0.44-0.66]), and clopidogrel prescriptions (0.66 [0.55-0.80]). Associations between psychotic disorder and increased mortality remained significant even after complications and treatment receipt were additionally adjusted. Our findings indicate that psychotic disorders are associated with increased risks of short-term post-ACS mortality, cardiovascular complications, and inferior treatment. Excess mortality is not substantially explained by treatment inequality. Further investigation is warranted to clarify factors for suboptimal cardiac-care and elevated mortality in psychotic disorders to enhance post-ACS outcome.