Gender differences in acute coronary syndrome in Arab Emirati women - Implications for clinical management

Gender differences exist in many aspects of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), including presentation and delay in diagnosis and treatment. The aim of the study was to evaluate gender-related differences in ACS patients in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). We analyzed a subset (n = 1697) of the Gulf Registry of Acute Coronary Events (Gulf RACE) data collected in 2007 of patients with ACS from 18 UAE hospitals. Women were significantly older (mean age: 64.0 ± 12.4 years for females and 50.9 ± 10.6 years for males, P <.001), more often had cardiac risk factors and were significantly less treated with β-blockers and reperfusion therapy. The adjusted mortality rate of women was 4.6% versus 1.2% in men (P <.001). Heart failure was higher in females compared with men (24.6% vs 12.5%; P <.001). Reasons for the high in-hospital mortality in women need to be investigated further.