Baseline characteristics of the study population
| 1997–2000 n=34 745 | 2001–2005 n=31 086 | 2006–2010 n=28 966 | 2011–2015 n=26 414 | P value | |
| Patient characteristics | |||||
| Age, mean (IQR) | 70.37 (60–77) | 70.09 (60–78) | 69.98 (61–78) | 69.53 (61–77) | <0.0001 |
| Male (%) | 18.613 (53.57) | 16.144 (51.93) | 15.368 (53.06) | 14.106 (53.40) | 0.0001 |
| Comorbidities | |||||
| Ischaemic heart disease | 6.827 (19.65) | 7.375 (23.67) | 6.753 (23.31) | 5.815 (22.01) | <0.0001 |
| AMI | 2.363 (6.80) | 2.883 (9.27) | 2.568 (8.87) | 2.149 (8.14) | <0.0001 |
| Heart failure | 3.377 (9.72) | 3.176 (10.22) | 2.633 (9.09) | 2.151 (8.14) | <0.0001 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 1.479 (4.26) | 1.743 (5.61) | 1.690 (5.83) | 1.689 (6.39) | <0.0001 |
| Hypertension | 3.724 (10.72) | 5.944 (19.12) | 7.936 (27.40) | 8.906 (33.72) | <0.0001 |
| Pulmonary embolism | 232 (0.67) | 310 (1.00) | 346 (1.19) | 418 (1.58) | <0.0001 |
| DVT | 755 (2.17) | 976 (3.14) | 1.016 (3.51) | 1.015 (3.84) | <0.0001 |
| Bleeding | 2.487 (7.16) | 3.299 (10.61) | 3.450 (11.91) | 3.163 (11.97) | <0.0001 |
| Diabetes | 5.063 (14.57) | 5.215 (16.78) | 4.828 (16.67) | 4.943 (18.71) | <0.0001 |
| Concomitant medication | |||||
| Warfarin | 1.489 (4.29) | 1.180 (3.80) | 1.042 (3.60) | 847 (3.21) | <0.0001 |
| NOAC | 0 (0.00) | 0 (0.00) | 7 (0.02) | 179 (0.68) | <0.0001 |
| Heparin | 18 (0.05) | 34 (0.11) | 95 (0.33) | 124 (0.47) | <0.0001 |
| Clopidogrel | 50 (0.14) | 723 (2.33) | 1.377 (4.75) | 1.556 (5.89) | <0.0001 |
| ASA | 10.724 (30.86) | 11.970 (38.51) | 14.281 (49.30) | 12.593 (47.68) | <0.0001 |
| NSAID | 7.498 (21.58) | 7.736 (24.89) | 6.410 (22.13) | 5.177 (19.60) | <0.0001 |
| Diuretics | 7.666 (22.06) | 9.3383 (30.18) | 10.400 (35.90) | 8.854 (33.52) | <0.0001 |
| Beta-blockers | 4.342 (12.50) | 6.535 (21.02) | 7.450 (25.72) | 6.952 (26.32) | <0.0001 |
| CC-blockers | 7.108 (20.46) | 6.679 (21.49) | 7.504 (25.91) | 7.305 (27.66) | <0.0001 |
| RAS-blockers | 6.731 (19.37) | 9.446 (30.39) | 12.211 (42.16) | 11.859 (44.90) | <0.0001 |
| Loop diuretics | 8.538 (24.57) | 6.895 (22.18) | 5.595 (19.32) | 4.375 (16.56) | <0.0001 |
| Statins | 2.426 (6.98) | 7.210 (23.19) | 14.136 (48.80) | 13.550 (51.30) | <0.0001 |
| Glucose-lowering agents | 5.242 (15.09) | 4.974 (16.00) | 4.810 (16.61) | 5.070 (19.19) | <0.0001 |
Continuous variables are presented as means (with SD values) and discrete variables as percentages (%).
AMI, acute myocardial infarction; ASA, acetylsalicylic acid; CC-blockers, calcium channel blockers; DVT, deep venous thrombosis; NOACs, new oral anticoagulants; NSAID, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; RAS-Blockers, renin–angiotensin converting system blockers.