Objectives: There is very scarce data on women with atrial fibrillation (AF) in the setting of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The aim of this study was to compare women and men with AF during hospitalization with AMI in a real-world population.
Methods: Retrospective analysis of all patients hospitalized with AMI and AF in Qatar from 1991 through 2010 was made. Patients were divided into two groups according to gender. Clinical characteristics, management and outcomes were analyzed.
Results: During the 20-years period, 12871 patients were hospitalized with AMI; 1611 women and 11260 men. Of these 227 patients developed AF during hospitalization; 69 women (4.3%) and 158 men (1.4%), p <0.05. Women with AF were 6 years older and had significantly higher rates of hypertension (72.5% vs. 44.3%), diabetes mellitus (66.7% vs. 43%), dyslipidemia (18.8% vs. 7.6%) and chronic renal impairment (8.7% vs. 7%) compared to men [all P=0.001]. Non ST-elevation AMI was the commonest underlying type of AMI in both sexes and it was more common in women compared to men (81.2% vs. 67.7%, P= 0.04). Women with AF had significantly longer hospital stay compared to men (8.5 days versus 6 days, p=0.02) whereas in-hospital mortality and stroke rates were comparable between the two groups [table].
Conclusions: We report significant risk profiles differences and a higher prevalence of AF following AMI in women. Further studies are warranted to further explore and confirm this observation in larger registries.