Height is not associated with long-term survival after acute myocardial infarction

Studies show an inverse association between height and risk of myocardial infarction. How height affects survival after acute myocardial infarction is uncertain.

In the Determinants of Myocardial Infarction Onset Study, trained interviewers performed chart reviews and face-to-face interviews with 1935 patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction in 45 US medical centers between 1989 and 1993. We excluded 15 patients with missing information on height. After a search of the National Death Index for patients who died before 1996, we analyzed the relationship of height and survival with Cox proportional hazards regression.

Of the 1920 eligible patients, 317 (17%) died during a median follow-up of 3.8 years. Height was positively associated with younger age, greater educational attainment, and a lower likelihood of being sedentary among both men and women. Height was not associated with long-term survival among women in unadjusted or adjusted analyses. Among men, height was associated with survival only in unadjusted analyses; adjustment for age eliminated this association. We found no relationship between height and survival in any individual age group among men or women.

Although stature may be associated with the risk of acute myocardial infarction, it is not associated with long-term survival after such an event.