Gender Differences in Heart Attack Symptoms and Treatment in Pakistan
Author Information
Author(s): Mavragani Amaryllis, Pevnick Joshua, Papakonstantinou Trisevgeni, Ngaruiya Christine, Samad Zainab, Tajuddin Salma, Nasim Zarmeen, Leff Rebecca, Farhad Awais, Pires Kyle, Khan Muhammad Alamgir, Hartz Lauren, Safdar Basmah
Primary Institution: Aga Khan University Hospital
Hypothesis
This study aims to assess gender differences in the symptoms and management of patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction at a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan using natural language processing.
Conclusion
The study found significant gender-based differences in clinical presentation and medication management for patients with acute myocardial infarction in Pakistan.
Supporting Evidence
- Women had higher odds of presenting with shortness of breath (OR 1.46) and lower odds of presenting with chest pain (OR 0.65).
- Women had nearly 30% lower odds of being prescribed statins (OR 0.71) and 40% lower odds of being prescribed β-blockers (OR 0.67).
- Statistically significant differences in symptom presentation were found, with women more likely to report atypical symptoms.
Takeaway
The study shows that women and men experience heart attacks differently, with women more likely to have symptoms like shortness of breath instead of chest pain, and they receive less medication.
Methodology
Natural language processing was used to analyze 5358 discharge summaries from patients with acute myocardial infarction between 1988 and 2018.
Potential Biases
Potential confirmation bias among the research team members could affect the model's quality.
Limitations
The study may be subject to selection bias due to missing data and lacks traditional expert medical record review for validating the NLP methodology.
Participant Demographics
The sample included 1769 women and 3589 men, with mean ages of 67.8 years for women and 63.3 years for men.
Statistical Information
Confidence Interval
95% CI 1.26-1.70 for shortness of breath; 95% CI 0.57-0.90 for statins; 95% CI 0.57-0.78 for β-blockers.
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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