Influence of age on gender differences in the management of acute inferior or posterior myocardial infarction

Prognostic Impact of Age and Hemoglobin in Acute ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction Treated With Reperfusion Therapy

Advanced age and low hemoglobin levels have been associated with a poor prognosis in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). We studied 1,111 patients with STEMI who received reperfusion treatment (1,032 [92.9%] primary angioplasty and 79 [7.1%] fibrinolysis without rescue percutaneous coronary intervention). Mean age was 64.1 ± 14.0 years, and 23.2% were women. Patients in the last age quartile (>76 years) were more frequently women, presented more risk factors (except smoking), received thrombolysis less frequently, had less complete revascularization, and presented more complications and higher mortality. Hemoglobin level at admission was associated with age and ranged from 14.8 ± 1.5 g/dl in the first quartile to 13.2 ± 1.8 g/dl in the last, p <0.001. Multivariate analysis identified age as a predictor of in-hospital and long-term mortality (odds ratio 1.04, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.00 to 1.07, hazard ratio 1.06, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.08). Hemoglobin levels were associated with better survival (odds ratio 0.8, 95% CI 0.6 to 0.9, hazard ratio 0.85, 95% CI 0.78 to 0.92). The other predictors of inhospital mortality were Killip class, chronic kidney disease, left ventricular ejection fraction, significant pericardial effusion, and ventricular arrhythmias. The association of hemoglobin with hospital mortality was seen in men and in women ≥65 years. In men ≥65 years, this association was also present in those with hemoglobin levels in the normal range. In conclusion, in patients with STEMI, hemoglobin is an independent predictor of inhospital and long-term mortality, especially in those aged ≥65 years. This association is also present in men ≥65 years with normal hemoglobin levels.

[Gender bias in women with myocardial infarction: ten years after]

OBJECTIVE

Previous studies show that the women with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) receive less fibrinolitic treatment than the men. The objective of this study is to analyze if it exists any difference in fibrinolysis related to gender and to compare the results with those obtained 10 years ago.

DESIGN

Retrospective descriptive study that compare patients with AMI of less than 24 hours of evolution of studies Analysis of Delay in Acute Infarct of Myocardium (ARIAM) in 2003-2004 and Project of Analysis Epidemiologist of Critical Patient (PAEEC) of 1992-1993.

SETTING

ICUs from 86 hospitals in Spain that participated in the PAEEC study and 120 ICUs in the ARIAM.

PATIENTS

We compared data of 9,981 patients including in study ARIAM in 2003-2004 with 1,668 of the PAEEC of 1992-1993.

RESULTS

Women were less likely to receive thrombolytic therapy than men (odds ratio= 0.82, p < 0.01), after adjusting for age, origin, size of the hospital and antecedents. The probability of fibrynolisis is lower in elderly, patients referred from the general ward, in hospitals of more than 1,000 beds and patients with arterial hypertension, stroke, diabetes or peripheral vascular disease. The probability of fibrinólisis is higher when patient is transferred from another hospital (followed by those of Emergencies Room), in the hospitals by less than 300 beds (followed by those of 300-1,000) and when history of prior ischemic heart disease exists. Comparing the two periods, has increased the frequency of fibrynolisis in both genders, although the increment has been greater in the women.

CONCLUSIONS

The women with AMI continue receiving less fibrynolisis, although exists an increase in the number of treatments superior to register in the men.

A comprehensive view of sex-specific issues related to cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality in women. In fact, CVD is responsible for a third of all deaths of women worldwide and half of all deaths of women over 50 years of age in developing countries. The prevalence of CVD risk factor precursors is increasing in children. Retrospective analyses suggest that there are some clinically relevant differences between women and men in terms of prevalence, presentation, management and outcomes of the disease, but little is known about why CVD affects women and men differently. For instance, women with diabetes have a significantly higher CVD mortality rate than men with diabetes. Similarly, women with atrial fibrillation are at greater risk of stroke than men with atrial fibrillation. Historically, women have been underrepresented in clinical trials. The lack of good trial evidence concerning sex-specific outcomes has led to assumptions about CVD treatment in women, which in turn may have resulted in inadequate diagnoses and suboptimal management, greatly affecting outcomes. This knowledge gap may also explain why cardiovascular health in women is not improving as fast as that of men. Over the last decades, mortality rates in men have steadily declined, while those in women remained stable. It is also becoming increasingly evident that gender differences in cultural, behavioural, psychosocial and socioeconomic status are responsible, to various degrees, for the observed differences between women and men. However, the interaction between sex-and gender-related factors and CVD outcomes in women remains largely unknown.

Is Thrombolytic Therapy Effective in Elderly Patients?

Thrombolytic therapy (TT) is applied in patients (<75 years of age) with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) with ST-segment elevation. It is recommended for elderly patients who have percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) or bypass surgery. For PTCA and bypass surgery a cardiosurgery medical team, which can be found in large medical hospitals, has to be prepared. Patients with AMI with ST-segment elevation who are older than 75 and who do not have TT have a dubious prognosis for longevity and quality of life. The aim of this study was to propose recommendations and behavior for reperfusion with TT of the coronary arteries of elderly patients. The investigation was conducted for a period of 5 years (2000 to 2004). Investigators registered 2462 patients, 502 of whom had AMI, and 103 (54 men, 49 women) of whom were older than 75 years. Reteplase (Rapilysin, Hoffman La Roche, Switzerland) was applied to 10 patients. The general and mental state of patients as well as comorbidity were assessed. The H2- blocker Famotidine (Quamatel-Gedeon-Richter, Hungary) was used to prevent bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract. The applied TT had a positive effect on these >75-year-old patients. The oldest woman was 89 years old and the oldest man was 93. There were no complications during the treatment of these elderly patients. Aging related to serious health problems can be improved with the application of TT to elderly patients with AMI, and ST-segment elevation is an excellent reperfusion therapy. It is possible to achieve a dose reduction of the thrombolytic agent, arterial pressure no higher than 160/100 mmHg, individual risk assessment for intracranial hemorrhage, and prevention of bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract.