AbstractBackground: Myocardial infarction is an important acute disease to be
treated in the emergency department. The symptoms of myocardial infarction have shown variation in elder patients in comparison with the younger patients. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in emergency department of Basaveshwara Medical College and Hospital, Chitradurga for a period of three years. About 120 patients attending the department were divided equally in to elder and younger groups. Risk factors, symptoms, time of presentation and type of MI were compared with the young patients. Results: The mean age of the elder patients was 70.1 years and younger group was 38.2 years. The risk factors were not significantly different in both the groups. Majority of the elder patients presented with atypical chest pain and breathlessness and Pain abdomen were the atypical symptoms in the elder patients. The time of presentation was 3–12 hours in both the groups. Anterior and Inferior wall MI was common in both the groups. Conclusion: Myocardial infarction can manifest with atypical symptoms in the elder patients. A thorough knowledge about the symptoms is required for an emergency physician for the better patient management.