SEX-RELATED DIFFERENCES IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING DIRECT ANGIOPLASTY FOR ACUTE MYOCARDIAL-INFARCTION

Important sex-related differences have been recognized in several coronary artery disease presentation and treatment subsets. Little data exist describing the relative findings and outcome in women versus men who received direct percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction. We studied 670 such patients of whom 464 (69%) were men and 206 were women. The women were significantly older (67 +/- 11 years vs 61 +/- 11, p < 0.001) but had undergone less prior coronary artery bypass graft surgery (6% vs 12%, p = 0.02), whereas prior myocardial infarction (17% women vs 22% men) and coronary artery disease distribution were not significantly different. Forty-one percent of women and 43% of men had single-vessel disease (p = NS). Both women and men had 1.5 lesions/patient dilated acutely, with similar success rates (95% women, 91% men; p = 0.08). Mean ejection fractions were similar (48% in both groups), and a similar percentage in each group had an ejection fraction <30% (10% women vs 13% men). Over a mean follow-up period of 86 weeks, the need for repeat catheterization was frequent and was similar in both groups (44% women, 47% men; p = NS), whereas documented restenosis was less common in women (20% vs 28% of patients, p < 0.05). The need for coronary artery bypass grafting was similar (15% women, 17% men; p = NS), as was the need for repeat percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty in the infarct vessel (14% women, 18% men; p = NS) and overall mortality (7% women, 9% men; p = NS). We concluded that other than older age, the clinical features of the women initially seen for direct percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction are very similar to those of men. In spite of this age difference, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty success and outcomes are also very similar, other than a 29% lower incidence of documented restenosis in women.