Difference in clinical manifestations of myocardial infarction between men and women in Iran in 2014-2015

Abstract

<strong>Background and aims:</strong> Cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of mortality among men and women so that the difference in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) symptoms between men and women can affect diagnosis and time of decision making for treatment and consequently disease outcomes. Therefore, knowledge of different symptoms affects the prognosis of the disease according to the gender. This study was conducted to determine the difference in clinical manifestations of MI between men and women. <br /><strong>Methods:</strong> In this cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical study all patients with primary diagnosis of AMI (n: 33831) in Iran in 2014-2015 were included. Data analysis was done by Stata. For descriptive data, central indices and distribution were used, and for investigation of the association among the variables, independent t-test and logistic regression were used. <br /><strong>Results:</strong> Overall, 33831 patients were included in this study, of whom, 24532 (51.72%) were male and the rest were female. Mean age at MI incidence was 80.0 7.59 years in men and 13.66 13.0 in women. Being female increased the likelihood of dyspnea by 3.1 times, vomiting by 31.1 times, and jaw pain by 21.1 times. No significant difference was seen in left arm pain, chest pain, nausea, and sweating between men and women (P>0.05). <br /><strong>Conclusion:</strong> Atypical symptoms, particularly in women, may cause the delay in referring the patients and also delay in decision making for diagnosis and treatment by the medical team. Hence, staff and patients of ICUs need more special information about AMI symptoms, especially with regard to gender.