The China PEACE (Patient-centered Evaluative Assessment of Cardiac Events Retrospective Study of Acute Myocardial Infarction

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major concern in public health globally, as well as in China, and remarkable variations of resources available and health system performance have been noted. Relatively limited information is available about how evidence-based therapies are incorporated appropriately into routine clinical practice. In addition, little information is available about the magnitude, prognosis, and optimal management of AMI, which is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity, both in rural and urban area. Practical and applied knowledge from large unselected population is needed to guide practice and policy for quality improvement and cost reduction.

To investigate the treatment pattern and outcomes of AMI patients during the past decade in China, using a stratified two-stage cluster sampling design, from 175 sampled hospitals, 13,900 AMI cases will be selected in 2011, and 6,950 in 2001 and 2006 separately. Photocopies of the 27,800 medical records of AMI cases will be sent to the national coordinating centre. Demographic characteristics, medical history, clinical features, diagnostic tests, medications, procedures, and in-hospital outcomes of patients will be abstracted by well trained professional abstractors. By characterizing differences in patients' features, comparing the use of medications and procedures, and examining the in-hospital outcomes, we'll define the gaps between clinical practice and guidelines, as well as the disparities across different regions and hospitals, to evaluated the treatment pattern and outcomes in the last decade in China. New knowledge will be generated about AMI management all over China, to provide evidence for policy-making and clinical guidelines, and to improve AMI patients prognosis in future finally.