Sex-Based Risk Evaluation in Acute Coronary Events-A Study Conducted on an Eastern-European Population

Background and Objectives: Cardiovascular (CV) diseases account for about 32% of deaths in women, with differing risk factors between women and men. Our study aimed to compare sex-related risk factors and comorbidities in patients at very high CV risk. Materials and Methods: We consecutively enrolled adult patients hospitalized for myocardial infarction or unstable angina at a tertiary referral center in western Romania between October 2016 and June 2017. A total of 299 adults underwent clinical and biochemical evaluations between 6 months and 2 years after their coronary event. We assessed patients' specific characteristics, comorbidities, and risk factors. Results: Women made up only a quarter of the survey participants (74 women, 24.7%) and were generally older (63.32 ± 9.3 vs. 60.51 ± 9.3, p = 0.02) and more obese (31.20 ± 6.0 vs. 29.48 ± 4.9, p = 0.02). There were no significant differences in the prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, chronic kidney disease, or peripheral artery disease, though women had slightly higher rates for most comorbidities. Regarding smoking habits, both groups had high percentages of current and former smokers, with women being significantly less likely to smoke (20.9% vs. 44.6%, p = 0.003). Multivariable logistic regression adjusting for age, BMI, smoking status, diabetes, and eGFR revealed that sex was not a statistically significant independent predictor for myocardial infarction, PCI, or CABG. Conclusions: We observed that women with previous coronary events had a worse risk factor profile, while there were no significant sex differences in overall comorbidities. Risk factor control should be based on sex-specific prediction models.