Baseline characteristics of patients hospitalised with acute myocardial infarction, according to sex
| Variable | Total cohort n=691 290 | Women n=238 489 (34.5%) | Men n=452 801 (65.5%) | P values | Missing n (%) | |
| Age (years) | Median (IQR) | 70.7 (59.4–80.1) | 76.7 (66.3–84.0) | 67.1 (56.9–77.2) | <0.001 | 1025 (0.1) |
| Discharge diagnoses | ||||||
| STEMI | n (%) | 273 113 (39.5) | 80 884 (33.9) | 192 229 (42.5) | <0.001 | 0 (0) |
| NSTEMI | n (%) | 418 177 (60.5) | 157 605 (66.1) | 260 572 (57.5) | <0.001 | 0 (0) |
| Medical history | ||||||
| Diabetes mellitus | n (%) | 122 185 (19.4) | 44 044 (20.3) | 77 877 (18.9) | <0.001 | 62 755 (9.1) |
| Current/ex-smoker | n (%) | 390 891 (62.2) | 104 570 (49.2) | 285 349 (68.9) | <0.001 | 14 915 (2.2) |
| Ischaemic heart disease | n (%) | 228 928 (36.4) | 78 390 (36.2) | 150 057 (36.5) | 0.018 | 66 896 (9.7) |
| Previous myocardial infarction | n (%) | 136 445 (21.9) | 42 833 (20.0) | 93 310 (22.9) | <0.001 | 57 597 (8.3) |
| Previous angina | n (%) | 169 404 (27.5) | 60 612 (28.6) | 108 468 (27.0) | <0.001 | 64 084 (9.2) |
| Previous PCI | n (%) | 46 586 (9.0) | 11 444 (5.5) | 35 056 (8.8) | <0.001 | 71 596 (10.3) |
| Previous CABG surgery | n (%) | 35 118 (5.8) | 7252 (3.5) | 27 819 (7.0) | <0.001 | 70 439 (10.2) |
| Hypertension | n (%) | 302 309 (48.7) | 117 383 (54.8) | 184 291 (45.5) | <0.001 | 58 415 (8.4) |
| Peripheral vascular disease | n (%) | 27 615 (4.6) | 8806 (4.2) | 18 956 (4.9) | <0.001 | 73 948 (10.7) |
| Cerebrovascular disease | n (%) | 51 853 (8.6) | 21 263 (10.2) | 30 492 (7.7) | <0.001 | 73 954 (10.7) |
| COPD or asthma | n (%) | 89 192 (14.9) | 36 695 (17.7) | 52 341 (13.4) | <0.001 | 72 369 (10.4) |
| Chronic renal failure | n (%) | 31 015 (5.1) | 11 503 (5.5) | 19 446 (4.9) | <0.001 | 72 435 (10.4) |
| Chronic heart failure | n (%) | 33 799 (5.6) | 15 059 (7.2) | 18 694 (4.7) | <0.001 | 71 904 (10.4) |
| Hypercholesterolaemia | n (%) | 193 576 (32.3) | 63 372 (30.9) | 129 495 (33.0) | <0.001 | 63 794 (9.2) |
| Admission characteristics | ||||||
| Heart rate (beats/min) | Mean (SD) | 81.9 (23.2) | 84.9 (23.7) | 80.3 (22.7) | <0.001 | 131 679 (19.0) |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | Mean (SD) | 139.2 (29.0) | 140.2 (30.6) | 138.7 (28.1) | <0.001 | 133 675 (19.3) |
| Prehospital cardiac arrest | n (%) | 13 244 (2.0) | 3290 (1.5) | 9925 (2.3) | <0.001 | 44 865 (6.5) |
| Creatinine (μmol/L) | Mean (SD) | 104.0 (61.1) | 96.5 (57.7) | 107.9 (62.5) | <0.001 | 308 817 (44.5) |
| GRACE risk score category | ||||||
| Low (<109) | n (%) | 134 380 (44.1) | 31 869 (30.2) | 102 340 (51.4) | <0.001 | 388 162 (56.0) |
| Intermediate (109–140) | n (%) | 90 224 (29.6) | 35 078 (33.2) | 55 069 (27.6) | ||
| High (>140) | n (%) | 80 445 (26.4) | 38 570 (36.6) | 41 826 (21.0) | ||
| Preadmission medication | ||||||
| Aspirin | n (%) | 153 311 (24.5) | 54 759 (25.8) | 98 256 (24.0) | <0.001 | 25 995 |
| Beta-blocker | n (%) | 136 230 (28.6) | 48 518 (29.7) | 87 511 (28.1) | <0.001 | 175 309 |
| Statin | n (%) | 204 489 (41.6) | 69 054 (40.9) | 135 116 (41.9) | <0.001 | 159 559 |
| ACEi or ARB | n (%) | 170 523 (35.9) | 61 353 (37.6) | 108 909 (35.1) | <0.001 | 176 395 |
| Thienopyridine | n (%) | 39 331 (14.3) | 13 062 (13.9) | 26 224 (14.5) | <0.001 | 398 166 |
Comparisons were made using Χ2 for categorical data, t-test for normally distributed continuous data and Mann-Whitney U test for non-normally distributed categorical data.
ACEi, ACE inhibitor; ARB, angiotensin II receptor blocker; CABG, coronary artery bypass graft; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; GRACE, Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events; NSTEMI, non-STEMI; PCI, percutaneous coronary intervention; STEMI, ST-elevation myocardial infarction.