Heart Attacks Twice as Deadly for Women

Women have a significantly higher rate of intrahospital mortality from myocardial infarct (MI) compared to men, according to a new study.

Researchers at Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (Rennes, France) conducted a prospective study involving 5,000 patients that measured differences in the management of ST-elevation MI (STEMI) by sex within 24 hours of symptom onset. About one in four of the patients in the MI study registry were women, and in general, they were older than men (69 versus 61 years of age). The researchers conducted mortality analyses adjusted for sex, management, and patient characteristics, including age, hypertension, and smoking status.

The results showed that women had a significantly higher rate of intrahospital mortality from MI (9%) when compared to men (4.4%). Women also had significantly longer median delay between onset of MI symptoms and calling for medical assistance (60 versus 44 minutes, respectively); in addition, women had a significantly longer median delay between hospital admission and reperfusion (45 versus 40 minutes), and received significantly fewer recommended treatments at discharge. The study was presented at the Acute Cardiac Care Congress meeting, held during October 2012 in Istanbul (Turkey).

“The results suggest that women need to be more vigilant about chest pains and request medical help quickly to reduce ischemic time. There may be a delay in women's response time to call for an ambulance due to a perception that MI is a ‘male problem’,” said lead author and study presenter Guillaume Leurent, MD. “Healthcare professionals should adopt more aggressive reperfusion strategies and treat women the same as men to reduce the gender gap in MI mortality.”

Other finding revealed by the study were that female patients had significantly more STEMI complications than men, including atrial fibrillation (7% versus 3%), and spent about a day more in the hospital than men.

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Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Rennes