The management of a heart attack is less rapid and precise in women compared to men. The researchers therefore developed an algorithm to facilitate the diagnosis of heart attacks in female patients.
- Symptoms of heart attack in women are unknown compared to those of men
- Around 5% of UK women who have had a heart attack were considered not to be at high risk of death
Feeling of exhaustion, shortness of breath on exertion, digestive disorders, sudden palpitations, acute pain in the back… These different signs are suggestive of a myocardial infarction in a woman, according to the Association Agir pour le cœur des femmes . This cardiovascular pathology occurs more and more in patients, particularly in relation to changes in their lifestyle (smoking, chronic stress, lack of physical activity, etc.).
The management of a heart attack is however later and less precise in women compared to men. One of the reasons that may explain this discrepancy is the ignorance of the symptoms of infarction in a woman, which are different from those of a man. Currently, nearly one in three women dies each year from the consequences of cardiovascular disease.
Inequalities in care and treatment
A study by Imperial College London, published in the Lancet magazine, focused on the lack of management of heart attacks in women. For the purposes of the research, they assessed data from 420,781 patients living in the UK and Switzerland who experienced a heart attack between 2005 and 2017. According to the results, around 5% of British women who had a heart attack were considered not to be at high risk of death. That is nearly 11,651 patients who were potentially misdiagnosed and who did not receive the right treatments. The researchers also reported that the time from onset of symptoms to admission to a hospital ward was longer in women.
“We live in a world where inequities in heart attack management are costing women’s lives every day (…) We need to make sure that cardiac tests and treatments are as well proven in women as they are in men. and that we address the lingering biases that permeate society and healthcare, as heart attacks affect women too.”explained Doctor Sonya Babu-Narayan, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation at the annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology in Barcelona (Spain) where the results of the study were unveiled.
Artificial intelligence for better diagnosis
To deal with these differences in care, the scientists designed an algorithm to help diagnose the infarction in patients. “Using a machine learning algorithm, 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”said Dr. Florian Wenzl of the Center for Molecular Medicine at the University of Zürich (Switzerland) and lead author of the study.
In the eyes of researchers, artificial intelligence is an effective means of guaranteeing patients the right treatment adapted to their pathologies. “I hope that implementing this new score in treatment algorithms will help refine current treatment strategies, reduce gender inequities, and ultimately improve survival for patients with IBD. a heart attack, whether male or female”said Thomas F Lüscher, of the Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals.
