Global epidemiology of acute coronary syndromes

This Review provides an epidemiological overview of global mortality from acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Across the regions of the world where data are available, mortality from ACS — including premature (age <70 years) mortality from ACS — was higher in men than in women. In both sexes, age-standardized mortality rates (ASMRs) for ACS in 2020 were highest in lower-income global regions. However, 20 years earlier, ASMRs for ACS were highest in higher-income global regions, including Europe, Northern America and Oceania. These higher-income regions have seen progressive reductions in mortality from ACS during the past 20 years, which is in contrast to the more stable levels of mortality from ACS in Asia and in Latin America and the Caribbean. In the seven African countries with data available, a small upwards trend in ASMRs for ACS was observed, reflecting an epidemiological transition that is already well advanced in these regions. Consistent with these changes during the past 20 years were >50% reductions in ASMRs for ACS in the high-income countries of the world compared with <15% reductions in lower-middle-income countries. Policymakers need more complete epidemiological data across and within global regions to identify those countries in which the burden of death from ACS is greatest and the need to implement preventive strategies is most pressing.