Discharge Planning Advisor-Gender differences found in early heart attack deaths
When both are at younger ages, women have a higher short-term mortality after heart attack than men, according to a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
The study, published in the magazine's July 21 issue, analyzed data from the National Registry of Myocardial Infarction 2 (NRMI 2). It found that women under age 50 are twice as likely to die after a heart attack than men in the same age group. NRMI is a multicenter, multi-phase observational heart attack program sponsored by Genentech Inc.
The evaluation team, headed by Viola Vaccarino, MD, PhD, assistant professor at the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, CT, examined data collected from 384,878 patients — 155,565 women and 229,313 men — enrolled in NRMI 2 at 1,658 hospitals across the United States.
Overall, female patients enrolled in the study were older than men, and thus hospital mortality was higher in this group (16.7% vs. 11.5%). However, when examined in specific age groups, investigators found that gender differences in mortality significantly differed according to age.
Additionally, investigators observed that women at younger ages consistently are less likely to be admitted with a diagnosis of suspected heart attack and administered life-saving reperfusion (artery-opening) therapies. These findings are consistent with previous studies which demonstrate that women are treated less aggressively for heart attack than men.
"These data suggest that the female gender may play a role in short-term mortality after heart attack, particularly among younger patients, making it difficult to diagnose and treat this patient population," said Vaccarino. "However, as early manifestations of coronary heart disease may be difficult to diagnose in women, more emphasis should be placed on the identification of diagnostic techniques and prognostic indicators for the early stages of this disease in the female population."
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