Is the female sex a risk factor for heart failure after myocardial infarction?

Abstract Background In previous observations, female sex was associated with heart failure after myocardial infarction (MI). However, women were older and had more risk factors and were not treated the same as men. Purpose Our aim was to investigate the differential impact of sex on heart failure (including cardiogenic shock) and outcome in a propensity score matched population with MI who had undergone percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and the association between sex, heart failure and long-term mortality. Methods Data from 3624 (30.6% women) MI patients who underwent PCI at our institution were analyzed. Propensity-score matching analysis was performed to adjust for differences in baseline characteristics between men and women. After propensity matching, the sample comprised 2170 patients (1085 women and 1085 men). Heart failure was defined by clinical criteria (bilateral pulmonary rales, S3 gallop, edema or cardiogenic shock) and/or pulmonary edema on chest X-ray and/or ejection fraction <30%. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The median follow-up time was 27 months (25th, 75th percentile: 9,48). Results In hospital, 329 (16.4%) patients developed heart failure, with a similar incidence in men and women (156(15.5%) vs. 173(17.2%);p=0.33) (Figure 1). Furthermore, female sex was not associated with heart failure either univariately (OR 1.13;95%CI 0.89-1.43;p=0.31) or after adjustment for confounding factors (aOR 1.27;95% CI 0.96-1.66;p=0.093). Age, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, ST- elevation MI, and P2Y12 receptor inhibitors were associated with heart failure. We followed the patients for up to six years. At the end of the observation period, 330(16.4%) patients had died. The mortality rate was similar in both sexes (159(15.8%) men died compared to 171(17.0%) women; p=0.51) (Figure 2). In addition, sex was not associated with long-term mortality (aHR 1.11;95%CI 0.88-1.40;p=0.38) after adjusting for confounders. In-hospital heart failure was independently associated with long-term mortality (aHR 2.64;95%CI 2.04-3.41;p<0.0001). Hyperlipidemia, age, ST- elevation MI, radial access, P2Y12 receptor inhibitor and GFR were also associated with long-term mortality. Conclusions Our results suggest that sex itself is not associated with heart failure after MI when women are treated similarly to men, have similar risk factors, and are of similar age. It is more likely that women are more frequently affected by heart failure because they are older, have more risk factors, are less likely to be revascularized, and are less likely than men to be treated with guideline-recommended therapy,Heart failure in men and womenLong-term all-cause mortality