Early heart attack survival worse for women
Gender does not influence long-term Heart attack survival, according to findings published in the European Heart Journal. However, in the short-term, while still hospitalized for the Heart attack, women are more likely to die than men.
“Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of death in women in western society, and currently more women die of cardiovascular disease than men,” Dr. Vernon V. S. Bonarjee, of the University of Bergen, Stavanger, Norway, and colleagues write. Although the frequency of Heart attack increases sharply with age, women are less likely to develop a Heart attack than are men at any age.
The researchers examined the short- and long-term gender-related differences in survival among high-risk patients with Heart attack. A total of 5,477 subjects were followed for an average of 2.7 years.
Compared with men, women were older and had more heart failure symptoms. Women also more often had high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol levels. In addition, fewer women were treated with clot-busting drugs.
Overall, 619 men and 327 women died during follow-up. As noted, no significant differences were noted between women and men in long-term survival. However, while hospitalized, the death rate in women was 57 percent higher than that in men.
The higher early death rates among women may be attributed to real gender-based differences in heart disease or differences in the treatment received, Bonarjee’s team notes.
Recent reports have suggested that women with Heart attacks are treated less aggressive than their male counterparts, the researchers state. Moreover, the typical symptoms of Heart attack may be absent in women, leading to a delay in treatment and, as a result, worse outcomes, they add.
SOURCE: European Heart Journal, September 2006.
Print Version
Tell-a-Friend
