Effect of chronic opioid using on three-month-survival of patients suffering from acute myocardial infarction

Introduction: Although various factors have been recognized influencing the short-term and long-term survival of patients suffering from a heart attack, there are some other factors that have not been determined as prognostic factors affecting the survival of patients. One of these factors is the history of opioid use among patients. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between the survival of patients suffering from acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and the use of opioids. Methods: This prospective cohort study was carried out on 222 patients suffering from AMI admitted to two teaching hospitals. The patients who passed away in the emergency department were excluded from this study. All patients were divided into two consumers or non-consumers groups according to the past and present use of opioids. The patientschr('39') status was investigated within 3 months of hospitalization while their clinical symptoms were recorded. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS software (Version 18) using the Mann–Whitney U test and independent t-test. A p-value of < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The mean age scores of subjects in the case and control groups were 61.3±13.2 and 61.5±12.6, respectively. Both groups had the same history of diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and ischemic heart disease. Based on the results, although the mean score of survival of patients in the opioid user group was slightly higher than that in the control group within 1, 2, and 3 months after the hospitalization, this difference was not significant (P>0.05). Conclusions: Opioid use has not any significant effect on the pain severity or mortality (survival) of patients after heart attack during 1, 2, or 3 months.