Patients with non-ST elevation MI who report dyspnoea or fatigue as their main presenting symptom have a worse prognosis than those with chest pain as the predominant feature, new research shows.

At one-year after the cardiac event, these patients were at increased risk of death and readmission, according to data presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Acute CardioVascular Care 2022 conference last weekend.

Although the researchers did not establish causation between symptom type and poorer outcomes, they said dyspnoea and fatigue could be seen as “warning signs of greater risk”.

“This study highlights the need to consider a diagnosis of [MI] even when the primary complaint is not chest pain,” said study author and cardiologist Dr Paulo Medeiros from Braga Hospital in Portugal.