Adding to previous work on heart attacks that
suggests that causes, symptoms, treatments, and outcomes can all
differ between men and women, new European research has revealed
another difference between men and women, finding that women who
experience a heart attack have a greater risk of mortality than men
within the year following the incident.
Researchers from the Technical University of
Munich (TUM) Germany analyzed patient data collected from two
studies with a total of 4,100 participants.
They found that within one year of having a
heart attack, the women in the sample were 1.5 times more likely to
die than men with similar case histories.
The team are now urging doctors to provide
intensive support to female heart attack patients, especially in
the first 365 days after the event.
"Family doctors have to be keenly aware of the
social situation of these women and try to provide support.
Particularly when there are signs of depression, family doctors
need to be especially alert," commented study contributor Prof.
Georg Schmidt. "If such indications are observed, it is important
to refer the patients quickly to specialists so that they can start
working with a therapist as soon as possible if needed."
Other differences between sexes regarding
heart attacks have already been revealed in previous studies,
although the disease is still seen as one that mainly affects men
as they account for around two thirds of patients hospitalized
after suffering a heart attack.
However, women suffer from "different" heart
attacks, potentially leading them to have a higher rate of death
and other consequences.
These differences include what triggers a
heart attack, with heart attacks in women less likely to be caused
by a local narrowing of blood vessels that can be widened
relatively easily.
Instead they suffer more often from diffuse
coronary artery disease, may not be treated as successfully by
surgical procedures.
Women also tend to be around 10 years older
than men when they experience a heart attack, and also more likely
to have accompanying conditions such as diabetes.
Females are also less likely to experience
typical signs and symptoms of a heart attack, such as neck or jaw
pain, with a heart attack sometimes occurring without any apparent
signs or symptoms at all.
Commenting on the new findings, Prof. Schmidt
suggested that societal factors could explain why a woman is at a
higher risk of death in the year following a heart attack, noting
that, "In everyday life, women often face different expectations
after a heart attack than men. They are expected to start
'functioning' again sooner, which means that they are subject to
bigger stresses."
Depression could also be another important
factor, with previous research suggesting that the condition can be
a risk factor in combination with other illnesses.
The study did not look into which
psycho-social factors may play a role, with Prof Schmidt adding
that future studies are needed to assess whether they are the main
cause of the differences between men and women, or whether there
are other reasons, possibly biological, at play.
The findings can be found published online in
the journal PLOS ONE.
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