Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: There are known biological differences between men and women in coronary heart disease. It is important to know these differences in order to avoid inequalities in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of this pathology.

Methods: We designed a retrospective, descriptive study in which we included all diabetic patients admitted to the hospital with acute coronary syndrome in 2016. Demographic data and degree of control of risk factors were registered.

Results: We studied 132 patients (60.6% men; mean age 68.7 years), 47.7% had a prior acute coronary event. We observed that our female population was older (72.15 vs 68.08 years, P<0.05), had more prevalence of high blood pressure (92.3% vs 72.5%, P<0.05) and less smoking habit (44.7% vs 55.3%, P>0.05). Degree of control of risk factors was slightly better in men group although we did not observe a significant difference (HbA1c <7% in 51.3% of men and 46.2% of women; LDL<100 mg/dl in 62.5% of men and 53.8% of women). We found a significant difference in lethality between both groups (15.38% of women vs 1.25% of men, P<0.05).

Conclusions: As it is described in literature we observed a later development of coronary heart disease in women of our sample and more lethality. The degree of control in our group was unsatisfactory and it was slightly poorer in women. A greater awareness of the differences in presentation of acute coronary syndrome between men and women, with gender-based interpretation of diagnostic tests, is mandatory for health care professionals to improve therapeutic strategies and outcomes in women.