Background: Treatment, outcomes, costs, and quality of life after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were compared between women and men with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) using data from the Antiplatelet Therapy Observational Registry (APTOR).
Methods: Fourteen European countries participated in this noninterventional, prospective, observational cohort registry, which enrolled patients with ACS who underwent PCI from 2007 to 2009. The 12-month outcomes included bleeding, cardiovascular events, and mortality. Quality of life was measured using the EQ-5D™ (EuroQol Group) health index and the visual analog scale.
Results: The APTOR registry included 4546 patients, of whom 1047 (23%) were women and 3499 (77%) were men. The women were older (mean age, 67 vs 61 years) and had higher rates of diabetes mellitus and hypertension. A greater proportion of the men were smokers (40% vs 30%). Approximately 70% of the patients underwent PCI on the day of the qualifying ACS event. Women and men received similar medications at the time of PCI, hospital discharge, and 12-month follow-up visit. Bleeding, cardiovascular events, and mortality occurred at higher rates in women than in men, but the differences were not statistically significant. At 12 months post-PCI, women reported lower quality-of-life scores on the EQ-5D™ health index and the visual analog scale than did men. The mean total cost of care was £6252 (€7189) for women and £5841 (€6717) for men; the differences may be driven by resource use after discharge from the hospital.
Conclusion: Women with ACS tended to be older and had more comorbidities than men, but both sexes experienced similar outcomes after 1 year. This study indicated no differences in treatment between sexes.