Increased cardiac mortality in women compared with men in patients with acute myocardial infarction

Female cardiovascular biology and resilience in the setting of physiological and pathological stress

For years, females were thought of as smaller men with complex hormonal cycles; as a result, females have been largely excluded from preclinical and clinical research. However, in the last ten years, with the increased focus on sex as a biological variable, it has become clear that this is not the case, and in fact, male and female cardiovascular biology and cardiac stress responses differ substantially. Premenopausal women are protected from cardiovascular diseases, such as myocardial infarction and resultant heart failure, having preserved cardiac function, reduced adverse remodeling, and increased survival. Many underlying biological processes that contribute to ventricular remodeling differ between the sexes, such as cellular metabolism; immune cell responses; cardiac fibrosis and extracellular matrix remodeling; cardiomyocyte dysfunction; and endothelial biology; however, it is unclear how these changes afford protection to the female heart. Although many of these changes are dependent on protection provided by female sex hormones, several of these changes occur independent of sex hormones, suggesting that the nature of these changes is more complex than initially thought. This may be why studies focused on the cardiovascular benefits of hormone replacement therapy in post-menopausal women have provided mixed results. Some of the complexity likely stems from the fact that the cellular composition of the heart is sexually dimorphic and that in the setting of MI, different subpopulations of these cell types are apparent. Despite the documented sex-differences in cardiovascular (patho)physiology, the underlying mechanisms that contribute are largely unknown due to inconsistent findings amongst investigators and, in some cases, lack of rigor in reporting and consideration of sex-dependent variables. Therefore, this review aims to describe current understanding of the sex-dependent differences in the myocardium in response to physiological and pathological stressors, with a focus on the sex-dependent differences that contribute to post-infarction remodeling and resultant functional decline.

Sex and gender differences in presentation, treatment and outcomes in acute coronary syndrome, a 10 year study from a multi-ethnic Asian population: The Malaysian National Cardiovascular Disease Database-Acute Coronary Syndrome (NCVD-ACS) registry

BACKGROUND

Sex and gender differences in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) have been well studied in the western population. However, limited studies have examined the trends of these differences in a multi-ethnic Asian population.

OBJECTIVES

To study the trends in sex and gender differences in ACS using the Malaysian NCVD-ACS Registry.

METHODS

Data from 24 hospitals involving 35,232 ACS patients (79.44% men and 20.56% women) from 1st. Jan 2012 to 31st. Dec 2016 were analysed. Data were collected on demographic characteristics, coronary risk factors, anthropometrics, treatments and outcomes. Analyses were done for ACS as a whole and separately for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), Non-STEMI and unstable angina. These were then compared to published data from March 2006 to February 2010 which included 13,591 ACS patients (75.8% men and 24.2% women).

RESULTS

Women were older and more likely to have diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia, previous heart failure and renal failure than men. Women remained less likely to receive aspirin, beta-blocker, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACE-I) and statin. Women were less likely to undergo angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) despite an overall increase. In the STEMI cohort, despite a marked increase in presentation with Killip class IV, women were less likely to received primary PCI or fibrinolysis and had longer median door-to-needle and door-to-balloon time compared to men, although these had improved. Women had higher unadjusted in-hospital, 30-Day and 1-year mortality rates compared to men for the STEMI and NSTEMI cohorts. After multivariate adjustments, 1-year mortality remained significantly higher for women with STEMI (adjusted OR: 1.31 (1.09-1.57), p<0.003) but were no longer significant for NSTEMI cohort.

CONCLUSION

Women continued to have longer system delays, receive less aggressive pharmacotherapies and invasive treatments with poorer outcome. There is an urgent need for increased effort from all stakeholders if we are to narrow this gap.

Sex-related differences in long-term mortality and heart failure in a contemporary cohort of patients with NSTEACS. The cardiochus-HSUJ registry

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

There is insufficient data regarding sex-related prognostic differences in patients with a non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTEACS). We performed a sex-specific analysis of cardiovascular outcomes after NSTEACS using a large contemporary cohort of patients from two tertiary hospitals.

METHODS

This work is a retrospective analysis from a prospective registry, that included 5,686 consecutive NSTEACS patients from two Spanish University hospitals between the years 2005 and 2017. We performed a propensity score matching to obtain a well-balanced subset of individuals with the same clinical characteristics, resulting in 3,120 patients. Cox regression models performed survival analyses once the proportional risk test was verified.

RESULTS

Among the study participants, 1,572 patients (27.6%) were women. The mean follow-up was 60.0 months (standard deviation of 32 months). Women had a higher risk of cardiovascular mortality compared with men (OR (Odds ratio) 1.27, CI (confidence interval) 95% 1.08-1.49), heart failure (HF) hospitalization (OR 1.39, CI 95% 1.18-1.63) and risk of all-cause mortality (OR 1.10, CI 95% 1.08-1.49). After a propensity score matching, female gender was associated with a significant reduction in the risk of total mortality (OR 0.77, CI 95% 0.65-0.90) with a similar risk of cardiovascular mortality (OR 0.86, CI 0.71-1.03) and HF hospitalization (OR 0.92, CI 95% 0.68-1.23). After baseline adjustment, the risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality was lower in women, whereas the risk of HF remained similar among sexes.

CONCLUSIONS

In a contemporary cohort of patients with NSTEACS, women are at similar risk of developing early and late HF admissions, and have better survival compared with men, with a lower risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality. The implementation of NSTEACS guideline recommendations in women, including early revascularization, seems to be accompanied by improved early and long-term prognosis.

Clinical Presentation, Risk Factor, and Outcomes of Acute Coronary Syndrome in Women at an Urban Referral Center in Dakar, Senegal

BACKGROUND

Cardiovascular disease is on the rise in Sub-Saharan countries. Recently, consistent studies have reported sex differences in the epidemiology of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Although, data on the incidence of ACS in Sub-Saharan countries are not rare, few focused closely on women.

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to examine risk factors, clinical presentations, and management strategies in women with ACS.

METHODS

This was a retrospective study conducted at the Cardiology Department of Principal Hospital of Dakar over a period of 60 months (January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2014), in Dakar, Senegal. Medical records of female subjects admitted for ACS on the basis of anginal pain at rest, suggestive electrocardiographic changes, and elevated troponin I levels were included. We collected and analyzed the epidemiological, clinical, paraclinical, and evolutionary data of the patients.

RESULTS

Hospital prevalence of ACS in women was 2.32%, meaning 38.1% of patients were admitted for ACS during the same period. The mean age of patients was 68.8 ± 9.5 years; 52% of them were aged between 60 and 69 years. The risk factors in our patients were dominated by hypertension found (63.3%) and diabetes (54.1%). Active smoking was found in 6 patients (6.1%). One-half of patients had more than 1 risk factor. Chest pain was present in 94 patients (95.9%). The average time delay before medical care was administered was 53.9 ± 18 h. Thirty patients showed signs of left ventricular failure (Killip classes I and II). Electrocardiography revealed ACS with persistent ST-segment elevation in 53 patients (54.1%) and non-ST-segment elevation ACS in 45 patients (45.9%). Mean troponin I level was 1.68 ± 2.3 ng/ml. Doppler echocardiography revealed impaired segmental kinetics in more than one-half of patients. The mean ventricular ejection fraction was 43.8 ± 10.1%. Thrombolysis was performed in 10 patients, accounting for 10.2% of patients with ST-segment elevation. The evolution during hospitalization after a mean hospital stay of 9.5 ± 3.7 days was favorable in 66 patients (67.3%). Six deaths (6.1%) were recorded. Complications was dominated by pulmonary edema.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study confirms that ACS is not a "man's only" disease in Sub-Saharan countries. The major concern is that there appeared to be continuing evidence of suboptimal treatment and intervention in women with ACS in current practice.

Determinants and Prognostic Impact of Heart Failure and Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction in Acute Coronary Syndrome Settings

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

Contemporary data on the incidence and prognosis of heart failure (HF) and the influence of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in the setting of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) are scant. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between LVEF and HF with long-term prognosis in a cohort of patients with ACS.

METHODS

This is a retrospective observational study of 6208 patients consecutively admitted for ACS to 2 different Spanish hospitals. Baseline characteristics were examined and a follow-up period was established for registration of death and HF rehospitalization as the primary endpoint.

RESULTS

Among the study participants, 5064 had ACS without HF during hospitalization: 290 (5.8%) had LVEF<40%, 540 (10.6%) LVEF 40% to 49%, and 4234 (83.6%) LVEF ≥ 50%. The remaining 1144 patients developed HF in the acute phase: 395 (34.6%) had LVEF<40%, 251 (21.9%) LVEF 40% to 49%, and 498 (43.5%) LVEF ≥ 50%. Patients with LVEF 40% to 49% had a demographic and clinical profile with intermediate features between the LVEF <40% and LVEF ≥ 50% groups. Kaplan-Meier curves showed that mortality and HF readmissions were statistically different depending on LVEF in the non-HF group but not in the HF group. Left ventricular ejection fraction ≥ 50% was an independent prognostic factor in the non-HF group only.

CONCLUSIONS

In ACS, long-term prognosis is considerably worse in patients who develop HF during hospitalization than in patients without HF, irrespective of LVEF. This parameter is a strong prognostic predictor only in patients without HF.

Sex Differences in the Treatment and Outcome of Korean Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction Using the Korean National Health Insurance Claims Database

Evidence showing higher acute myocardial infarction (AMI) mortality rates among female compared with male inpatients has stimulated interest in whether this disparity is the result of biological factors or differences in the provision of healthcare services. We investigated the impact of sex on in-hospital mortality rates due to AMI, and evaluated the contribution of differences in the delivery of optimal medical services for AMI.We retrospectively constructed a dataset of 85,329 new patients admitted to Korean hospitals with AMI between 2003 and 2007 from the Korea National Health Insurance Claims Database. We used the claims database to provide information about treatment after admission or death for each patient.Proportionally more female than male patients aged 65 years or older had complications; however, proportionally fewer female patients underwent invasive procedures. Female patients had a higher in-hospital mortality rate than males (21.2% vs 14.6%, odds ratio [OR] 1.58, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.52-1.64). The probability of death within 30 days after admission remained higher for females than males after adjusting for demographic characteristics and severity (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.04-1.13). After additionally adjusting for invasive and medical management, the probability of death within 30 days did not differ between males and females (OR 1.04, 95% CI 0.99-1.08). A similar trend was revealed by an additional analysis of patients according to younger (<65 years) and older (≥65 years) age groups.The higher in-hospital mortality rates after AMI in Korean female patients was associated with a lower procedure rate. Evidence indicating that AMI symptoms differ according to sex highlights the need for health policies and public education programs that raise awareness of sex-related differences in early AMI symptoms to increase the incidence of appropriate early treatment in females.

Influences of age, gender, and circadian rhythm on deceleration capacity in subjects without evident heart diseases

Background

Deceleration capacity (DC) is a newly found predictor of mortality after myocardial infarction. Age‐, gender‐, and circadian rhythm–related differences in DC may limit its predictive value, which should be considered in clinical settings.

Methods

DC, average heart rate, and HRV parameters, including 24 hours, awaking state (15:00–20:00) and sleeping mode (00:00–05:00) strips from 24 hours Holter recordings in 636 subjects without heart diseases were examined. Heart rate variability was analyzed in time domains (standard deviation of all normal‐to‐normal intervals [SDNN], normal‐to‐normal RR intervals in all 5‐minute segments [SDANN], and root mean square successive difference [RMSSD]).

Results

The DC, SDNN, SDANN, RMSSD, and heart rate decreased with age. Deceleration capacity was significantly lower in patients greater than 50 years of age. The largest decrease of SDNN, SDANN, and RMSSD occurred in patients 30–39 years of age. The values of SDNN, SDANN, and DC of women were lower than that of men in the young and middle‐aged groups, but age‐related decrease of DC in men was greater than that in women. Heart rate of women was significantly higher than that of men in younger subjects, especially in a sleeping mode. There were higher values of DC and RMSSD during sleeping than that during a waking state.

Conclusions

The age, gender, and circadian rhythm may be useful when evaluating cardiac autonomic function and need to be considered when evaluating DC and HRV in clinical and scientific researches.

Gender inequality in the clinical outcomes of equally treated acute coronary syndrome patients in Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Gender associations with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), remain inconsistent. Gender-specific data in the Saudi Project for Assessment of Coronary Events registry, launched in December 2005 and currently with 17 participating hospitals, were explored.

DESIGN AND SETTINGS

A prospective multicenter study of patient with ACS in secondary and tertiary care centers in Saudi Arabia were included in this analysis.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients enrolled from December 2005 until December 2007 included those presented to participating hospitals or transferred from non-registry hospitals. Summarized data were analyzed.

RESULTS

Of 5061 patients, 1142 (23%) were women. Women were more frequently diagnosed with non ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI [43%]) than unstable angina (UA [29%]) or ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI [29%]). More men had STEMI (42%) than NSTEMI (37%) or UA (22%). Men were younger than women (57 vs 63 years) who had more diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. More men had a history of coronary artery disease. More women received angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) and fewer had percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Gender differences in the subset of STEMI patients were similar to those in the entire cohort. However, gender differences in the subset of STEMI showed fewer women given b-blockers, and an insignificant PCI difference between genders. Thrombolysis rates between genders were similar. Overall, in-hospital mortality was significantly worse for women and, by ACS type, was significantly greater in women for STEMI and NSTEMI. However, after age adjustment there was no difference in mortality between men and women in patients with NSTEMI. The multivariate-adjusted (age, risk factors, treatments, door-to-needle time) STEMI gender mortality difference was not significant (OR=2.0, CI: 0.7-5.5; P=.14).

CONCLUSION

These data are similar to other reported data. However, differences exist, and their explanation should be pursued to provide a valuable insight into understanding ACS and improving its management.

Gender differences in acute coronary syndrome in Arab Emirati women--implications for clinical management

Gender differences exist in many aspects of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), including presentation and delay in diagnosis and treatment. The aim of the study was to evaluate gender-related differences in ACS patients in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). We analyzed a subset (n = 1697) of the Gulf Registry of Acute Coronary Events (Gulf RACE) data collected in 2007 of patients with ACS from 18 UAE hospitals. Women were significantly older (mean age: 64.0 ± 12.4 years for females and 50.9 ± 10.6 years for males, P < .001), more often had cardiac risk factors and were significantly less treated with β-blockers and reperfusion therapy. The adjusted mortality rate of women was 4.6% versus 1.2% in men (P < .001). Heart failure was higher in females compared with men (24.6% vs 12.5%; P < .001). Reasons for the high in-hospital mortality in women need to be investigated further.

Impact of prehospital delay in treatment seeking on in-hospital complications after acute myocardial infarction

BACKGROUND

Rapid arrival to the hospital for treatment of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) improves long-term outcomes. Whether prehospital delay time is associated with short-term, in-hospital complications remains unknown.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the fit of a theoretical model where prehospital delay time was indirectly associated with hospital length of stay through in-hospital complications after AMI considering simultaneously for demographic, clinical, and psychosocial factors using structural equation modeling.

METHODS

Acute myocardial infarction patients (N = 536; 66% men; mean age, 62 [SD, 14] years) were enrolled in this prospective study. Demographic and clinical data were obtained by patient interview and medical record review. After patient discharge, complications were abstracted from the medical record.

RESULTS

Prehospital delay, admission Killip class, and in-hospital anxiety were the best predictors of in-hospital complications, including recurrent ischemia, reinfarction, sustained ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation, and cardiac death, after AMI (P = .019). The occurrence of in-hospital complications was related to length of stay in the hospital (P < .001).

CONCLUSION

Prehospital delay in promptly seeking hospital treatment for AMI symptoms, together with state anxiety and worse heart failure, was associated with the occurrence of more frequent serious complications during the hospital stay. It is essential that research and clinical efforts focus on the complex and dynamic issue of improving prehospital delay in AMI patients.

Gender differences in clinical features and in-hospital outcomes in ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction: from the Korean Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry (KAMIR) study

BACKGROUND

Studies have suggested that women are biologically different and that female gender itself is independently associated with poor clinical outcome after an acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

HYPOTHESIS

We analyzed data from the Korean Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry (KAMIR) to assess gender differences in in-hospital outcomes post ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

METHODS

Between November 2005 and July 2007, 4037 patients who were admitted with STEMI to 41 facilities were registered into the KAMIR database; patients admitted within 72 hours of symptom onset were selected and included in this study.

RESULTS

The proportion of patients who had reperfusion therapy within 12 hours from chest pain onset was lower in women. Women had higher rates of in-hospital mortality (8.6% vs 3.2%, P < .01), noncardiac death (1.5% vs 0.4%, P < .01), cardiac death (7.1% vs 2.8%, P < .01), and stroke (1.2% vs 0.5%, P < .05) than men. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified age, previous angina, hypertension, a Killip class > or = II, a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) < 40%, and a thrombolysis in myocardial infarction flow (TIMI) grade < or = 3 after angioplasty as independent risk factors for in-hospital death for all patients; however, female gender itself was not an independent risk factor.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study show that although women have a higher in-hospital mortality than men, female gender itself is not an independent risk factor for in-hospital mortality.

In-hospital mortality following acute myocardial infarction in Kosovo: a single center study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Randomized trials have demonstrated that primary angioplasty is more effective than intravenous thrombolysis in reducing mortality and morbidity in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The aim of this study was to assess the in-hospital mortality of patients with AMI admitted to the only tertiary care center in Kosovo, where coronary percutaneous intervention procedures are unavailable. We also assessed the impact of age and gender on in-hospital mortality.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Consecutive patients with the diagnosis of AMI, admitted in our institution between 1999 and 2007, were included in this retrospective study.

RESULTS

Of 2848 patients (mean age 61+/-11.3 years, 73.4% males) admitted with AMI, 292 (10.25%) patients died during in-hospital stay. The overall in-hospital mortality was 12.3% for women and 9.5% for men (P<.05). Women were significantly older than men (64.2+/-11 years vs 59.7+/-11.8 years, P<.05). Mean length of stay was 12.0+/-94 for women and 10.7+/-7.6 for men. From 1999 to 2007 there was an increase in the age of patients with AMI but the mortality rate remained stable.

CONCLUSIONS

Compared to developed countries, patients with AMI in Kosovo present at an earlier age but have a higher mortality rate. Women with AMI had a significantly higher in-hospital mortality rate than men. The lack of percutaneous coronary intervention procedures in AMI patients may have contributed to the high in-hospital mortality in our population.

Sex differences in myocardial infarction events between patients with and without conventional risk factors: the Modares Heart Study

The authors sought to determine the profile of traditional risk factors and hematologic-metabolic parameters as well as relative risk among patients with myocardial infarction (MI). This study included 594 MI patients (70.2% men and 29.8% women) and was carried out during a period of 11 years from 1994 to 2005. Patients were analyzed by sex according to selected hematologic-metabolic parameters and risk factors. The mean age, hemoglobin, hematocrit, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, total cholesterol, and fasting blood glucose were significantly different (P<.05) between men and women. The mean hemoglobin and hematocrit levels in men with hyperlipidemia (HLP) and family history of MI compared with those without these risk factors were significantly different (P<.05). Relative risks of HLP, diabetes mellitus (DM), and hypertension (HTN) for women were higher than for men in all age groups. The relative risk was 6.16 times higher for women with the 3-factor HLP, DM, and HTN combination. The results of this study confirm the important role of HLP, DM, and HTN in the occurrence of MI, especially in women.

Short- and long-term prognosis after acute myocardial infarction in men versus women

The prevailing view is that women have a higher early mortality after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) than men, but several studies have shown no differences. Further, long-term differences have not been addressed widely. The present study examined gender differences in short- and long-term prognoses after AMI in The Netherlands. A nationwide cohort of 21,565 patients with a first hospitalized AMI in 1995 was identified through linkage of the National Hospital Discharge Register and the population register. Crude short- and long-term mortalities were significantly higher in women than in men (28-day hazard ratio [HR] 1.70, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.58 to 1.82; 5-year HR 1.52, 95% CI 1.46 to 1.59). After adjustment for age, the risk difference was attenuated at 28 days and even reversed at 5 years in favor of women (28-day HR 1.11, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.20; 5-year HR 0.94, 95% CI 0.90 to 0.99). When differences in other covariates were also taken into account, the risk differences remained virtually the same. To account for differences in reperfusion procedures, we repeated the analyses in 1,176 patients who underwent acute reperfusion therapy (angioplasty/thrombolysis). Comparable, but not statistically significant, gender differences were observed (28-day HR 1.06, 95% CI 0.65 to 1.74; 5-year HR 0.82, 95% CI 0.62 to 1.08). In conclusion, our findings in an unselected cohort covering a complete nation indicate that the worse short- and long-term prognoses after an AMI in women compared with men may largely be explained by differences in age, whereas differences in co-morbidity, origin, infarct location, and reperfusion therapy seem to contribute little.