In chronic coronary syndrome, women less likely to get cholesterol-lowering drugs vs. men
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Key takeaways:
- In patients with chronic coronary syndrome, women were less likely than men to be dispensed lipid-lowering therapy.
- Women were also less likely than men to achieve LDL goals.
Among patients with chronic coronary syndrome, women were less likely than men to be treated with lipid-lowering therapy, researchers reported at ESC Preventive Cardiology 2024.
Women in this population were also less likely than men to be treated aggressively for lipid-lowering and to achieve LDL goals, the researchers found.
“Cholesterol-lowering drugs save lives and prevent heart attacks, and should be prescribed to all patients with coronary artery disease,” Nina Johnston, MD, cardiologist and researcher at Uppsala University, Sweden, who presented the findings, said in a press release. “Unfortunately, our study shows that women are missing out on these essential medications.”
Johnston and colleagues conducted a retrospective observational study with data from 1,037 men (median age, 68 years) and 415 women (median age, 70 years) from Sweden with chronic coronary syndrome who were diagnosed from 2012 to 2020, did not have MI before their diagnosis and were managed in a primary care setting.
Patients were analyzed for dispensation of lipid-lowering therapy, achievement of LDL goals (< 1.8 mmol/L from 2012-2015 and < 1.4 mmol/L from 2016-2020) and achievement of BP goals (< 140 mm Hg systolic), and were followed for 3 years.
Men were more likely to be dispensed lipid-lowering therapy than women at all age groups (18-59 years, 60-69 years, 70-79 years and 80 years or older), the researchers found.
At 3 years, only 54% of women were dispensed lipid-lowering therapy compared with 74% of men, and 5% of women were treated with a statin plus ezetimibe compared with 8% of men, Johnston and colleagues found.
Prescription rates were highest at diagnosis and declined over 3 years, but they declined more steeply in women than in men, according to the researchers. As an example, in patients aged 18 to 59 years, 65% of women and 79% of men were dispensed lipid-lowering therapy within a week of diagnosis, but 52% of women and 78% of men were dispensed lipid-lowering therapy at 3 years.
Women were also less likely than men to achieve LDL targets, the researchers found.
BP monitoring and target achievement did not vary by sex, the researchers found.
“Our findings should be a wake-up call about the undertreatment of women with heart disease,” Johnston said in the release. “Equal prescribing practices are needed so that women receive all recommended therapies and are protected from adverse outcomes.”
Reference:
- Women with heart disease are less likely to receive life-saving drugs than men. https://www.escardio.org/The-ESC/Press-Office/Press-releases/Women-with-heart-disease-are-less-likely-to-receive-life-saving-drugs-than-men. Published April 25, 2024. Accessed April 25, 2024.
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Johnston N, et al. Abstract 11467. Presented at: ESC Preventive Cardiology; April 25-27, 2024; Athens, Greece.
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