Objective: Although the prevalence and rate of myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA) are higher in women than in men in previous cohorts, potential demographic and clinical differences between women who are diagnosed with MINOCA versus myocardial infarction with obstructive coronary arteries (MIOCA) have not been studied till date. In this study, we aimed to document these characteristics and to compare them between female patients with MINOCA and MIOCA.
Methods: The study was a subgroup analysis of the MINOCA-TR study. The study was a multi-center, observational cohort study that was conducted in Turkey between March 2018 and October 2018. In this study, 477 (29.3%) female patients who had been diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction were evaluated.
Results: Of these women, 49 (10.3%) were diagnosed with MINOCA (mean age 58.9±12.9 years) and 428 (89.7%) had a final diagnosis of MIOCA (mean age 67.4±11.8 years). The prevalence of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes mellitus was significantly lower in the MINOCA group than in the MIOCA group. In addition, the MINOCA group had higher rates of recent flu history and non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) presentation than the MIOCA group. There were significant clinical differences in patients with MINOCA in terms of sex. The female patients were older, had higher systolic blood pressures, and lower hemoglobin levels than male patients.
Conclusion: The study revealed that the prevalence of traditional coronary artery disease risk factors was lower in female patients with MINOCA than in those who had final diagnosis of MIOCA.