Sex differences of patients with acute chest pain evaluated through a chest pain unit.

BACKGROUND: Although sex disparities between patients with acute myocardial infarction are well known, the data regarding sex differences among symptomatic patients with acute chest pain (ACP) are limited. METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated the records of 1000 consecutive patients with ACP and hospitalized in a tertiary medical center chest pain unit (CPU). Patients were divided according to sex. The primary outcome was defined as a composite end point of readmission because of chest pain, incidence of acute coronary syndrome, revascularization, and death at 90 days and 1 year. RESULTS: Overall, 673 men and 327 women were included in the current analysis. There was no difference in regard to sex for patients who underwent noninvasive evaluation, (87.8 vs. 87.3%, P  = 0.85, for female vs. male, respectively). Among patients who underwent coronary computed tomography angiography, women were less likely to have significant coronary artery disease (CAD) (4.2 vs. 11.3%, P  = 0.005). Similarly, women had fewer significant findings (4.4 vs. 7.6%, P  = 0.007) on myocardial perfusion imaging. Consequently, fewer women underwent angiography (8 vs. 14%, P  = 0.006) and revascularization (2.8 vs. 7.3%, P  = 0.004). During follow-up, sex was not associated with the development of the primary composite outcome [odds ratio (OR) 0.91, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.39-2.09, P -value = 0.82 and OR 1.16, 95% CI 0.65-2.06, P -value = 0.59 for 90-day and 1-year follow-up, respectively]. CONCLUSION: Evaluation of patients through a CPU enables comparable noninvasive evaluation, appropriate utilization of invasive assessment with similar outcomes during the short and intermediate follow-up period regardless of patients' sex.

Feasibility and Safety of Evaluating Patients with Prior Coronary Artery Disease Using an Accelerated Diagnostic Algorithm in a Chest Pain Unit.

An accelerated diagnostic protocol for evaluating low-risk patients with acute chest pain in a cardiologist-based chest pain unit (CPU) is widely employed today. However, limited data exist regarding the feasibility of such an algorithm for patients with a history of prior coronary artery disease (CAD). The aim of the current study was to assess the feasibility and safety of evaluating patients with a history of prior CAD using an accelerated diagnostic protocol. We evaluated 1,220 consecutive patients presenting with acute chest pain and hospitalized in our CPU. Patients were stratified according to whether they had a history of prior CAD or not. The primary composite outcome was defined as a composite of readmission due to chest pain, acute coronary syndrome, coronary revascularization, or death during a 60-day follow-up period. Overall, 268 (22%) patients had a history of prior CAD. Non-invasive evaluation was performed in 1,112 (91%) patients. While patients with a history of prior CAD had more comorbidities, the two study groups were similar regarding hospitalization rates (9% vs. 13%, p = 0.08), coronary angiography (13% vs. 11%, p = 0.41), and revascularization (6.5% vs. 5.7%, p = 0.8) performed during CPU evaluation. At 60-days the primary endpoint was observed in 12 (1.6%) and 6 (3.2%) patients without and with a history of prior CAD, respectively (p = 0.836). No mortalities were recorded. To conclude, Patients with a history of prior CAD can be expeditiously and safely evaluated using an accelerated diagnostic protocol in a CPU with outcomes not differing from patients without such a history.