Objective To research clinic characteristics, therapies and 2-year progress of female patients with Non-ST-segment Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome (NSTE-ACS).
Methods This study was part of the internationalized Organization to Assess Strategies for Ischemic Syndromes (OASIS) registry. There was no intervention in the therapy. Patients admitted to hospital with NSTE-ACS (including unstable angina and non-Q wave myocardial infarction) were enrolled. The patients’ clinical characteristics, treatment procedure, major events in hospital and two-year progress were recorded by filling in Case Report Forms. Single-variate analyses were made between patients of difference genders.
Results A total of 2 294 patients with NSTE-ACS were enrolled in China. The female patients were 37.7% (n=864), whose mean age was 65.1±6.7 years. Unstable angina dominant (90.7%) was noted on admission. The percentage of patients with abnormal ECG was 92.6%. The prior hypertension and diabetes were 64.1% and 23.4%, respectively, in female patients which were evidently higher than those of males (P≤0.001). The prior coronary heart disease, old myocardial infarction, smoking, and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were 39.4%, 16.8%, 11.7%, and 2.3% respectively, in females, which were evidently lower than in males (P≤0.001). The prior history of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery was 0.5% in females, which was evidently lower than in males (P≤0.05). During hospitalization, the therapeutic rates of anti-platelets and β-adrenergic blockers were 92.8% and 64.8%, respectively, in female patients, which were observably lower than in males (P≤0.05). The therapeutic rates of nitrates, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI), calcium antagonists, lipid lowering agents were 96.9%, 60.0%, 59.1%, and 47.1%, respectively, in females, which were not significantly different from those of males. The medication rate in females fell off gradually after discharge, which was more evident than in males. In two-year follow up, the therapeutic rates of anti-platelets, β-adrenergic blockers, ACEI, and lipid lowering agents were 68.4%, 39.5%, 27.4%, and 19.4%, respectively, in female patients, which were markedly lower than those in males (P≤0.05). During hospitalization, the therapeutic rates of PCI and CABG were 10.5% and 2.7%, respectively. In two year follow-up, their therapeutic rates were 13.4% and 4.8%, respectively. The rate of females performing revascularization procedures was evidently lower than that of males (P≤0.001), either during hospitalization or in two-year follow up. In two years of follow up, mortality and incidence rates of new myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure, hospitalization because of refractory angina were 7.4%, 4.7%, 6.8%, 15.4%, and 31.3%, respectively, in female patients. There were no significant differences between females and males (P gt;0.05).
Conclusion Compared with male patients, female patients with NSTE-ACS are less likely to adopt and / or attach importance to treatment. As to the reason why there are no significant differences in major events of NSTE-ACS between females and males under the current circumstance that females’ treatment is inferior to males’, gender of females is an important protective factor.
Citation： ZHANG Jingtao,TAN Huiqiong,ZHU Jun,LI Jiandong,LIANG Yan,ZHANG Yan,LIU Lisheng. Two-Year Follow-up of Female Patients with Acute Ischemic Syndrome without ST Elevation. Chinese Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine, 2010, 10(8): 887-891. doi: 10.7507/1672-2531.20100514 Copy