Background: Coronary artery disease is currently the most common, non-communicable disease in India. One of the gravest complications of CAD is ST-elevation myocardial infarction i.e. myocardial cell necrosis due to significant and sustained ischaemia. Despite advances in diagnosis and management, STEMI is still a major public health problem both in developed as well as in developing parts of the world. Current study documents common risk factors and clinical profile of patients with STEMI admitted in the internal medicine department of tertiary care institute present in rural area of Himachal Pradesh, India.Methods: A descriptive prospective study was conducted at, Dr. RPGMC Kangra at Tanda, from May 2017 through April 2018. Common cardiovascular risk factors, clinical presentation, Electrocardiogram findings, regions of infarction and rhythm disturbances were studied and documented. Descriptive statistics in the form of frequency and proportions were calculated using MS Excel software. Results: A total of 126 patients diagnosed with STEMI were studied. The patients were predominantly male (74.6%). Most common age group affected was of 51-60 years of age (33.3%). The most common presenting symptom was chest pain (78%) followed by shortness of breath (46%) and nausea/vomiting (21%). Tobacco smoking/chewing (70%) was the major risk factor followed by hypertension (54%) and diabetes (29.9%). Majority of infarction occurred on anterior wall (51%). Conclusions: STEMI was most common among middle aged adult male in current study. Tobacco use (Smoking) prevalence among patient is very high along with other risk factor like hypertension and diabetes.
