Time-trends in thrombolytics: women are catching up

Reports on gender differences in the management of acute coronary syndromes indicate that women do not receive as much active treatment as men. Other conflicting findings have also been published. To investigate whether previously reported gender differences in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) still persist, we included all patients admitted to our coronary care unit (CCU) in 1984-1995, and discharged with a diagnosis of AMI, in a retrospective study. A total of 1991 female admissions was compared with 4067 male admissions. The time-span was divided into two-year periods comprising approximately 1000 patients each. During one period, 1988 to 1989, women received significantly less thrombolytic therapy which, however, could reflect that women admitted with AMI were older than men. Analysis of time-trends showed a significant increase in the use of thrombolytic treatment in women and elderly men. In clinical praxis there has been a gender-gap in acute treatment of AMI, but age-dependent or not, this is now no longer apparent.