MEN WITH angina are twice as likely to have a heart attack as women with early heart disease, research published this morning has found.
The study of more than 1,700 patients newly diagnosed with angina (chest pain due to narrowing of the coronary arteries) was carried out by researchers from the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) and the University of Aberdeen and published online by the British Medical Journal today.
Led by Dr Brian Buckley, Cochrane research fellow at the department of general practice NUIG, researchers followed up participants for five years after they were first diagnosed. Patients had an average age of 62 years and were recruited from 40 GP practices in Scotland.
The study is the first to link data from primary and secondary care with mortality records to assess what happens to people diagnosed with the common heart condition.
It found that men with angina were almost three times as likely to die from heart disease as women with the same condition. Being older, obese and a smoker were each associated with an increased risk of death from heart disease.
According to the research, men were also more likely than women to have either coronary bypass surgery or to be treated with angioplasty (inflating a balloon in the coronary artery to clear the blockage).
Commenting on the results, Dr Buckley said: “Angina is early-stage heart disease that needs to be taken seriously. The message to patients is to try to lose weight and give up cigarettes, as well as taking medication.
“Don’t get frightened by angina, but do take it seriously,” he added, pointing out that with the help of their GPs, patients with angina could access quality secondary preventive care.
Referring to his findings that men with angina had a poorer outcome than women with the condition, Dr Buckley said the research “shines a strong light on the situation” but that more research was needed to establish the exact reason for this. “It could be that men are not taking [preventive] messages on board or it could be due to some physiological factor.”
It is estimated between 5 to 7 per cent of males over the age of 16 in the Republic have angina.