Increased Neck Circumference and Increased Waist-Hip Ratio: Predictive Factors of Acute Myocardial Infarction

Background We hypothesize that neck circumference (NC) is a better predictor of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) compared to the waist-hip ratio (WHR) in patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The objective of this study is to investigate the association between NC and WHR with AMI and determine whether NC is a superior predictor of AMI in ACS patients compared to WHR. Methods This cross-sectional observational study was conducted in the Department of Cardiology at the Medical Teaching Institute, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar. The study lasted from February 20, 2018, to September 12, 2018. Patients having ACS who presented to the emergency department were enrolled via non-probability convenient sampling. Demographic data and baseline variables, including NC and WHR, were documented using a pre-designed pro forma. SPSS V.20 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY) was used for data analysis. Continuous variables were expressed as mean ± standard deviation, while categorical variables were presented as frequencies and percentages. Chi-square tests were performed to determine the association between variables, and logistic regression models were used to measure odds ratios (ORs). Results In this study, 180 patients were included, with a mean age of 54.48±8.48 years and a male predominance of 51.5%. The results indicated a significant association between increased NC and WHR with AMI. The chi-square values for NC and WHR were 78.26 (p≤0.001) and 43.38 (p≤0.001), respectively. As NC increased from <37 cm to >38.5 cm, the OR for AMI increased from 0.46 to 4.51. Furthermore, the prevalence odds ratio (POR) of AMI increased by 2.185 times with an increase in WHR from 0.90. Conclusion Increased NC and increased WHR are statistically significantly associated and strong predictors of AMI in ACS patients. However, NC being more reliable, effective, and user-friendly should be the preferred measure.