Sex Differences in Clinical Outcomes of Patients with Stable Coronary Artery Disease after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Abstract

Potential sex-related differences in the periprocedural and long-term postprocedural outcomes of coronary angioplasty in patients with stable coronary artery disease have been studied thoroughly over the last few decades, to determine whether female sex should be regarded as an independent risk factor that affects clinical outcomes. Based on a significant number of observational studies and meta-analyses, sex has not yet emerged as an independent risk factor for either mortality or major cardiac and cerebrovascular events, despite the fact that in the early 1980s, for several reasons, female sex was associated with unfavourable outcomes. Therefore, it remains debatable whether female sex should be considered as an independent risk factor for periprocedural and long-term bleeding events. The pharmacological and technological advancements that support current coronary angioplasty procedures, as well as the non-delayed treatment of coronary artery disease in females have certainly lessened the outcome differences between the two sexes. However, females show fluctuations in blood coagulability through their lifetime and higher prevalence of bleeding episodes associated with the antithrombotic treatment, following transcatheter coronary reperfusion interventions. In conclusion, the clinical results of percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with stable coronary artery disease, during the periprocedural and long-term postprocedural periods, appear to show no significant differences between the two sexes, except for bleeding rates, which seem to be higher in females, a difference that mandates further systematic research.