Clinical characteristics and prognosis of female patients with acute myocardial infarction in Enshi area of Hubei Province

AIM: To study the clinical characteristics, therapeutic approaches and prognosis in female patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in Enshi area of Hubei Province during 2001-2008. METHODS: Data compared between 154 female AMI patients and 462 male AMI patients included the following variables: age, smoking history, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, body mass index (BMI), positive family history, depression, clinical characteristics of chest pain, therapeutic approaches, complications and prognosis. RESULTS: Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the factors of age, hyperlipidemia, BMI >25 kg/m2, depression, atypical chest pains and complications were significantly higher in female patients compared with those in male patients (P<0.05, P<0.01). Effective therapy and prognosis were significantly lower in female patients (P<0.01), but no significant difference was observed in the incidence of hypertension, diabetes and positive family history between genders. CONCLUSION: Hyperlipidemia, high BMI and depression are the main AMI risk factors for female patients in Enshi area of Hubei Province. Atypical symptoms, delay of hospital visit and not seeking timely and effective treatment are responsible factors for the high incidence of complications and poor prognosis.