Significance of the invasive strategy after acute myocardial infarction on prognosis and secondary preventive medication: a nationwide study of 6364 women and 11,915 men.

Objective: To describe gender-specific long-term outcome and initiation of secondary preventive medication among patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Design: Observational cohort study.

Setting: Nationwide registries.

Patients: We included 18,279 patients: 6364 women (35%) and 11,915 men (65%), admitted with AMI (median age, 67 years; range, 30-90 years) surviving for at least 2 months.

Interventions: According to sex, patients were stratified by invasive treatment strategy: (1) revascularized; (2) examined with coronary angiography (CAG) but not revascularized; and (3) not examined with CAG.

Main Outcome Measures: All-cause mortality and readmission with AMI. Initiation of secondary preventive medication.

Results: Of 18,279 patients with a first AMI who survived 2 months, 1857 women (29%) and 1756 men (15%) were not examined with CAG (P<.001), 1295 women (20%) and 1563 men (13%) were examined but not revascularized (P<.001), and 3212 women (51%) and 8596 men (72%) were revascularized (P<.001). Not being examined with CAG after AMI was associated with a three-fold increase in risk of death and, importantly, a 50% increase in the risk of a recurrent AMI compared with patients who were revascularized. Among patients who were revascularized, 85-92% initiated recommended secondary preventive medication compared to 46-71% in patients not examined with CAG (P<.001). Initiation of secondary preventive medication was higher in men (81-84%) than in women (73-79%; P<.001), which could be ascribed to the differences in invasive strategy.

Conclusions: In both sexes, those who were not examined had a highly increased risk of both recurrent AMI and death. Moreover, initiation of secondary preventive medication was closely related to the choice of invasive strategy disfavoring the women.