Comparison of men and women with acute coronary syndrome in six Middle Eastern countries.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the gender differences in baseline characteristics, therapy, and outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndromes in 6 Middle Eastern countries. Over a 6-month period in 2007, 8,169 consecutive patients (74% men, 24% women) presenting with acute coronary syndromes were enrolled in a prospective, multicenter study from 6 adjacent Middle Eastern countries. Women were 9 years older than men and more likely to have diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. Women were more likely to present with unstable angina and more often had atypical presentations of ST elevation myocardial infarction. Compared to men, women were significantly less treated with beta blockers and antiplatelet therapy, whereas reperfusion therapy was nonsignificantly less used in women. In all patients with acute coronary syndromes, women not only ranked higher on Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events risk score but also had increased in-hospital mortality, 1.75 times that of men. This mortality difference persisted after adjusting for all confounders (odds ratios 1.76, 95% confidence interval 1.1 to 2.8, p <0.01). In conclusion, in addition to presentation with higher risk factors, female gender also independently predicted poorer outcomes in patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction.