Sex-related differences in eligibility for reperfusion therapy and in-hospital outcome after acute myocardial infarction

Aims To determine the effect of sex on reperfusion therapy and early mortality after acute myocardial infarction. Methods We analysed the characteristics, the reperfusion interventions, and in-hospital mortality in 400 consecutive patients (320 men and 80 women) admitted during the first 6 h of acute myocardial infarction and treated by primary angioplasty, or intravenous thrombolysis with rescue angioplasty. Results The differences between men and women were age (57 vs 67 years, P=0.001), systemic hypertension (33 vs 50%, P=0.02), cigarette smoking (79 vs 30%, P=0.0001) and contraindications to thrombolysis (28.5 vs 42.5%. P=0.02). Successful reperfusion of the infarct-related artery was achieved in 84% of patients of both sexes. In-hospital mortality was 7.2% in men and 18.7% in women (P=0.001). Multivariate analysis was performed by linear logistic regression in order to compare several embedded models, using repeated maximum likelihood ratio tests. The best model involved the variables of cardiogenic shock and age. Addition of the variable 'sex' did not improve the predictive power of this model (P>0.5). Conclusion During acute myocardial infarction, similar successful early reperfusion rates can be achieved in men and women, despite the lower eligibility of women for thrombolytic therapy. Although in-hospital mortality was higher in women than men, the best predictive model of mortality was the combination of age and cardiogenic shock. Therefore, sex does not appear to be an independent predictor of mortality.