Original Article

Background: Data on premature coronary artery disease (CAD) are scarce. The Tehran Heart Center's Premature Coronary Atherosclerosis Cohort Study (THC-PAC) is the first study of its kind in the Middle East to assess major adverse cardiac events (MACE) in young CAD patients. Methods: The cohort consists of CAD patients, males ≤ 45 years old and females ≤ 55 years old. The participants are residents of Tehran or its suburbs and underwent coronary angiography between June 2004 and July 2011. A 10-year follow-up, via either clinical visits or telephone calls at least once a year, was commenced in August 2012. The end point is considered MACE, encompassing death, myocardial infarction, stroke, new coronary involvement, percutaneous coronary intervention, and coronary artery bypass grafting. Results: The cohort comprises 1232 eligible patients (613 [49.8%] males) at a mean age of 45.1 years (SD = 5.8). Hig