Gender-based comparison of takotsubo syndrome versus myocardial infarction

QJM. 2019 May 1;112(5):355-362. doi: 10.1093/qjmed/hcz033.

Abstract

Background: Takotsubo Syndrome (TTS) is an acute reversible left ventricular dysfunction. Recently published studies have highlighted a similar mortality rate as acute coronary syndrome (ACS). We compared the impact of gender differences on the outcome of TTS patients as compared to ACS patient.

Design and methods: We included a collective of 138 patients TTS between 2003 and 2016 at our institution. Patients were divided according to their gender into two groups (Males n=21, 15% and females, n=117, 85%). They were compared with a cohort of 300 patients with a diagnosis of ACS.

Results: On the acute phase, in male patients with TTS, a treatment with inotropic was more often required (33.3 vs. 11.5%, P<0.01), were more susceptible to cardiogenic shock (28.6 vs. 12.5%, P<0.04). Concerning the long-term prognosis after the acute event, male patients had higher all-cause mortality over long-term follow-up. A Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that the mortality of male patients with TTS was significantly higher compared to male patients with ACS (log-rank <0.01), while there was no significant difference between female patients with TTS and ACS (log-rank =0.60, P=0.45). In a multivariate cox regression analysis, male gender (HR 2.7, 95% CI: 1.1-6.5, P=0.02) GFR <60 ml/min (HR 2.8, 95% CI: 1.2-6.0, P=0.01) and history of cancer (HR 3.6, 95% CI 1.4-9.3, P<0.01) were independent predictors of 5-year mortality.

Conclusions: Considerable evidence suggests that TTS compared to ACS implicates more significant clinical short-term events on male patients and it may be associated with poorer long-term prognosis.

MeSH terms

  • Acute Coronary Syndrome / mortality*
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Cause of Death
  • Female
  • Germany / epidemiology
  • Hospital Mortality
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Multivariate Analysis
  • Myocardial Infarction / mortality*
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Sex Distribution
  • Sex Factors*
  • Survival Analysis
  • Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy / mortality*
  • Time Factors