心脏病死亡率与性别无关

A study led by the University of Michigan Cardiovascular（心血管的） Center shows being a woman may not increase your risk of dying from treatment for a severe heart attack. U-M researchers and colleagues in the Michigan Cardiovascular Consortium found women who received treatment such as an angioplasty（血管成形术） had higher unadjusted in-hospital heart attack deaths.

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But these differences appear to be related to women's ages and additional health problems – not gender², says study lead author Elizabeth Jackson, M.D., M.P.H., an assistant professor of internal medicine at the U-M Health System and member of the Women's Heart Program.

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"When we adjusted for factors such as age and co-morbidities like hypertension and diabetes³, women had similar mortality rates at the time of the heart attack as men," says Jackson.

"But women still appear to be more likely to have a bleeding episode in the hospital that requires a transfusion⁴（输血，输液） or vascular¹（血管的） complications," she says.

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The five-year study published in the American Heart Journal showed that compared with men, women were older with more co-morbidities – a medical condition in addition to the primary disease – at the time of treatment.

Women account for about one-third of patients who undergo procedures such as percutaneous（经皮的） coronary interventions⁵ to clear the clogged⁶ arteries⁷ causing a heart attack.

Researchers examined the outcomes of 8,771 patients undergoing a procedure for an acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction, commonly known as a severe heart attack. Patients were part of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Cardiovascular Consortium registry, a physician-led quality improvement collaborative that is supported by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network. #

Previous investigations⁸ using other registries have found women had higher in-hospital mortality rates than men, but recent advancements⁹ in treatment changed how doctors care for these patients and the team wanted to re-investigate with more current data, says Jackson. #

"Overall, there have been tremendous improvements in the care of both men and women who suffer a heart attack, but further research on everyday patients, such as those in the registry, is needed to be able to continue improving our level of care," says Jackson. #

Cardiovascular disease kills nearly twice as many women in the United States than all types of cancer, including breast cancer, according to the American Heart Association. #

February is American Heart Month and several initiatives – such as the American Heart Association's annual National Wear Red Day and the new "Make the Call, Don't Miss a Beat" campaign by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and its Office on Women's Health – aim to bring national attention to women's heart disease. #

Also this month, the American Heart Association released its updated guidelines on preventing cardiovascular disease in women and Jackson served on an expert panel that reviewed research and recommended changes. #