Angina: Risk Of Heart Attack And Death Doubles In Men

Main Category: Heart Disease
Also Included In: Men's health
Article Date: 07 Aug 2009 - 1:00 PST

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A study just published on bmj.com reports that the risk of heart attack is multiplied by two for men who have angina. Also their risk of suffering a heart disease-related death is three times higher than for women with the same condition.

It is the first study to associate primary and secondary care data with mortality records in order to evaluate the risks of angina among men and women.

Angina is widespread in the United Kingdom and frequently it is the initial manifestation of ischaemic heart disease. The latest evaluations indicate that 4.8 percent of men and 3.4 percent of women aged over 16 in England have the condition. In Scotland angina is reported to occur in 6.6 percent of men and 5.6 percent of women.

For that reason it is essential for both patients and their clinicians to comprehend the risks following a diagnosis of angina.

Dr Brian Buckley of the National University of Ireland, Galway, and a team of researchers identified 1,785 patients from 40 primary care practices in Scotland. Their average age was 62 years and they were all newly diagnosed with angina between January 1998 and December 2001.

Cardiovascular risk factors, such as smoking and obesity, were assessed. Also, underlying conditions, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, were recorded. In addition, the postcode of each patient was used to assign a deprivation status.

For a period of five years all the participants were monitored. Research showed that being male, older and a smoker was linked with an increased risk of having a heart attack. Also, being male, older, obese and a smoker were all connected with an increased risk of death from heart disease or any cause.

The probability of undergoing a procedure to open up blocked arteries, known as angioplasty (PTCA) or coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) was also higher in men than in women. Noteworthy information was that neither procedure was linked with significant improvement in survival.

The authors explain: "This study has shown that a number of characteristics, including male sex, age, smoking and obesity, in people with a first diagnosis of angina are strongly associated with subsequent risk of a number of cardiac outcomes."

They conclude that these findings suggest suitable managing of risk factors and proper application of preventive medical treatments should be seriously followed for patients with angina.

"Five year prognosis in patients with angina identified in primary care: incident cohort study"
Brian S Buckley, Cochrane research fellow, Colin R Simpson, research fellow, David J McLernon, research fellow, AndrewWMurphy, professor of general practice, Philip C Hannaford, NHS Grampian chair of primary care and head of division of applied health sciences.
BMJ 2009; 339:b3058
BMJ

Written by Stephanie Brunner (B.A.)

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