Journal Article

Sex differences in management and outcomes of patients with atrial fibrillation in the Middle East: Gulf survey of atrial fibrillation events (Gulf SAFE)

Bhagavathula, Akshaya Srikanth, Alsheikh-Ali, Alawi A., Sulaiman, Kadhim, Asaad, Nidal, Al-Zakwani, Ibrahim, Amin, Haitham, Zubaid, Mohammad, Rashed, Wafa A., Shehab, Abdulla, AlMahmeed, Wal, AlQudaimi, Ahmed

2017

Overview

Differences in the management of atrial fibrillation (AF) between men and women were investigated by using Gulf SAFE data in the Middle East. The study included 2,043 patients presenting with AF to emergency room (ER) were prospectively enrolled and followed for one-year. Women were older, have higher body mass index (BMI), comorbidities, and health complications than men. With regard to management of AF, cardioversion was recommended more often for men (16.7% vs. 9.3%), and underwent electrical cardioversion (2.2% vs. 1.1%). Women were prescribed digoxin more frequently than men (25.6% vs. 17.4%) and a significant number women received warfarin alone (31.1% vs. 8.7%). No difference between the sexes was noticed in One-year rates of stroke/transient ischemic attacks (TIA) and all-cause of mortality after one-year follow-up (3.1% men vs. 3.3% women, and 7.5% vs. 7.4%). Older age (≥ 65 years), smoking, alcohol use, CHADS2 scores ≥5 were some of the significant risk factors in men with AF. Suboptimal use of anticoagulants, higher mortality and stroke/TIA events at one year are high but similar between the sexes. ER management revealed high use of rate control strategy and high rate of hospital admission was noticed in women.

• Publisher: Public Library of Science,Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subject: Adult / Age Factors / Aged / Alcohol Drinking / Arrhythmia / Aspirin / Atria / Atrial fibrillation / Atrial Fibrillation - drug therapy / Atrial Fibrillation - epidemiology / Atrial Fibrillation - therapy / Body mass / Body Mass Index / Body size / Cardiac arrhythmia / Cardiology / Care and treatment / Cerebral blood flow / Chest / Circulation / Clinical outcomes / Death / Demographics / Demography / Diabetes / Digoxin - administration & dosage / Digoxin - therapeutic use / Disease management / Dopamine D1 receptors / EKG / Embolization / Emergency medical care / Emergency medical services / Ethics / Female / Females / Fibrillation / Flutter / Gender differences / Health / Heart / Heart diseases / Heart failure / Hospitals / Humans / Immunoglobulins / Incidence / Male / Medicine / Medicine and Health Sciences / Men / Middle Aged / Middle East / Mortality / People and Places / Pharmacology / Population studies / Risk factors / Safety management / Sex / Sex differences / Sex differences (Biology) / Sex Factors / Smoking / Stenosis / Strip / Stroke / Surgery / Therapy / Thromboembolism / Thrombosis / Warfarin - administration & dosage / Warfarin - therapeutic use / Women