[Myocardial infarction in women: risk factors and clinical features]

The course of myocardial infarction (MI) in women, especially 60 years of age and older, is characterized by such severe complications as cardiorrhexis, hypovolemic cardiogenic shock, asystole, recurrent ventricular fibrillation and electromechanic dissociation responsible for the majority of lethal outcomes. Especially high MI lethality is in women at the age 70-79 years who have also the highest incidence of recurrent macrofocal MI while small-focal MI occurs in women over 80 years of age (80-89) more frequently than in 60-year-olds and younger. Dominating MI risk factors in women were the following: arterial hypertension detected in 81% patients under 60 and 90.8% cases over 60 years; abnormal lipid spectrum of blood including hypercholesterolemia (HCE), hypertriglyceridemia (HTE) and low concentration of HDLP cholesterol. HCE and HTE closely correlated with abdominal obesity irrespectively of age. Early menopause in women under 60 and diabetes mellitus of type 2 in older women, accumulation of two and more factors of risk contribute to development of coronary heart disease and MI, in females.

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