Maintain pressure on reforms to protect NHSMen with angina twice as likely to have a heart attack as women
Men with angina are twice as likely to have a heart attack, and almost three times as likely to have a heart-disease related death, than women with the same condition, say UK researchers.
The study, carried out by researchers from the National University of Ireland, is the first to link primary and secondary care data with mortality records to assess the risks of angina among men and women.
The researchers studied 1,785 patients from 40 primary care practices in Scotland who were newly diagnosed with angina between January 1998 and December 2001.
After tracking the study participants for five years, the researchers found that being male, older and a smoker was associated with an increased risk of having a heart attack.
Additionally, being male, older, a smoker and obese were each associated with an increased risk of death from heart disease or any cause.
The study also found that the likelihood of having an angioplasty to open up blocked arteries, or coronary artery bypass surgery, was higher in men than in women. However, neither procedure was associated with significantly improved survival.
The results suggest that the appropriate control of risk factors, and optimal use of preventative medical treatments, should be aggressively pursued in patients with angina, the authors said in the British Medical Journal.
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