Sex differences in the presentation and outcomes of patients with acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock: a critical review of contemporary data and a look towards future directions

Purpose of review: Cardiogenic shock (CS) is a devasting complicating of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), associated with significant mortality. Prior studies have reported sex differences in the presentation, management and outcomes of patients with AMI and CS. These differences are likely due to a variety of factors influencing therapeutic decision-making and impacting survival. This review highlights the more contemporary studies exploring differences in women and men with AMI-CS, providing a critical perspective towards understanding the factors that might lead to these differences and outlining potential opportunities to reduce disparities in treatment and improve survival for women with AMI-CS.

Recent findings: Recent reports demonstrate that women with AMI-CS are older than men and have more cardiovascular comorbidities. When examining an unselected population of patients with AMI-CS, women receive less aggressive treatment compared to men and have poorer outcomes. However, when examining a selected population of patients with AMI-CS treated with mechanical circulatory support (MCS) and/or admitted to centers that implement CS protocols to manage AMI-CS, these sex-based differences in outcomes are largely mitigated.

Summary: Standardizing protocols for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with AMI-CS, with an emphasis on early revascularization and appropriate invasive therapies, can improve outcomes in women and narrow the gender gap.