ZURICH: Heart attack is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, with a higher mortality rate in women than in men. Cardiologists have worried about this for decades, and it has sparked debate in the medical community about the causes and consequences of potential gaps in treatment.
The problem starts with the symptoms: unlike men, who usually experience chest pain up to the left arm, a heart attack in women often appears on the back of an upset stomach or as nausea and vomiting. Unfortunately, these symptoms are often misinterpreted by patients and healthcare providers, with disastrous consequences.
The study findings were published in The Lancet journal.
The risk profile and clinical picture are different in women
An international research team led by Thomas F. LuscherProfessor at the Center for Molecular Cardiology University of Zurich (UZH), have now examined the role of biological sex in heart attack in more detail. “Indeed, there are significant differences in the disease phenotype seen in women and men. Our study shows that women and men differ significantly in their risk factor profiles at hospital admission,” says Lüscher. When age differences at admission and existing risk factors such as hypertension and diabetes are ignored, female heart attack patients have a higher mortality rate than male patients. “However, when these differences are taken into account statistically, women and men have similar mortality rates,” adds the cardiologist.
Current risk models favor under-treatment of female patients
Researchers from Switzerland and the United Kingdom analyzed data from 420,781 patients across Europe who had suffered the most common type of heart attack. First author Florian A. of the Center for Molecular Medicine at UZH. “The study shows that the risk models that guide current patient management are less accurate in women and favor the treatment of female patients,” says Wenzel. “Using machine learning algorithms and using the largest datasets in Europe we were able to develop a novel artificial-intelligence-based risk score that accounts for sex-related differences in the baseline risk profile and improves mortality prediction in both sexes,” says Wenzel.
AI-based risk profiling improves personalized care
Many researchers and biotech companies agree with this artificial intelligence And big data analytics is the next step on the road to personalized patient care. “Our study ushers in the era of artificial intelligence in heart attack treatment,” Wenzel says. Modern computer algorithms can learn from large data sets to make precise predictions about the prognosis of individual patients—the key to personalized treatment.
Thomas F. Lüscher and his team see huge potential for using artificial intelligence to manage heart disease in both male and female patients. “I hope that the implementation of this novel score into treatment algorithms will improve current treatment strategies, reduce gender disparities, and ultimately improve the survival of heart attack patients—both men and women,” Luescher says.
