Patient responses to symptoms of acute coronary syndrome: a gender-perspective study

Bolívar Muñoz J, Martínez Cassinello R, Mateo Rodríguez I, Torres Ruiz JM, Pascual Martínez N, Rosell Ortiz F, Reina Toral A, Martín Castro C, Daponte Codina A

Objective: To determine the environmental characteristics and the opinions, behaviors,

and types of transfer to hospital of men and women who experience symptoms of acute

coronary syndrome (acute myocardial infarct and unstable angina).

Methods: Descriptive observational study of a representative sample of patients with a

diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome who were admitted to the intensive care units of

33 public health service hospitals in 8 provinces in Andalusia, Spain, between 2007 and

2010.

Results: A total of 1416 surveys were completed; 948 were for men and 468 were for

women (mean [SD] ages, 63.0 and 70.5 years, respectively). Symptoms usually began in

the patients home. Fewer than a third of the patients surveyed knew they were

experiencing a coronary event from the beginning of symptoms (29.9% of men and

24.2% of women; P<.001). The first reaction of 26.0% was to call or try to find a family member, friend, or neighbor. Many undertook more than 1 measure when they sensed they needed help. More than half these patients used their own transport to a reach the hospital; the difference between men and women in this respect was significant (P<.001). At least 2 different transport methods were used by 29.2%. Conclusions: The variability of patient responses to the onset of coronary symptoms suggests that these patients lack information about what measures to take. We detected significant differences between men and women with respect to both their perception of their clinical condition and how to seek care.

Bolívar Muñoz J, Daponte Codina A, Martín Castro C, Martínez Cassinello R, Mateo Rodríguez I, Pascual Martínez N, Reina Toral A, Rosell Ortiz F, Torres Ruiz JM