Heart attacks are one of the most common causes of death worldwide. Women who have a heart attack have a higher death rate than men. This finding has worried cardiologists for decades and has sparked medical controversy over the causes and consequences of any treatment gaps.
The problem starts with the symptoms. Unlike men, who usually experience painful pressure in the chest with radiation to the left arm, in women a heart attack often results in abdominal pain and radiation to the back or nausea and vomiting. However, these symptoms are often misinterpreted. With disastrous consequences, said the University of Zurich (UZH) in a press release.
Risk models
An international research team led by Thomas F. Lüscher, professor at the Center for Molecular Cardiology at the UZH, has now further investigated the role of the biological sex in heart attacks.
“Our study shows that women and men differ significantly in their risk factor profiles at hospital admission. The clinical picture of women and men who have a heart attack is also different,” says Lüscher. For example, female patients have a higher mortality than male patients, if age differences at admission and existing risk factors such as hypertension and diabetes are not taken into account.
“But when these differences are statistically taken into account, women and men have similar mortality rates,” adds the cadiologist.
Computer model helps predict heart attacks with patient data
A lot of data are available in the hospital for patients with a certain abnormal heart rhythm (ventricular tachycardias, VTs). This data can help predict a heart attack.
Personalized patient care
Many researchers and biotech companies agree that artificial intelligence and big data analytics are the next step towards personalized patient care. “Our study ushers in the era of artificial intelligence in the treatment of heart attack patients,” says Wenzl. Modern computer algorithms can learn from large data sets and make accurate predictions about the prognosis of individual patients. And these, in turn, are key to individualized treatments.
Thomas F. Lüscher and his team see great potential in using artificial intelligence to improve the treatment of heart disease in both male and female patients. “We hope that using the new risk assessment will refine current treatment strategies, reduce gender inequalities and ultimately improve survival, especially for women who have had a heart attack,” said Lüscher.