若年成人は心臓関連の胸痛を認識する確率が低い（Abstract # 17831）

若年成人および女性は心筋梗塞症状に対する受診が遅れる
Young adults and women delay seeking care for symptoms of myocardial infarction
若年成人は胸痛を心臓関連の問題と考えにくいとのスタディ結果が2012年American Heart Association学会で発表された。しかし、女性の方が男性よりも受診までに1日以上待つと報告した者が多かった。男女ともに症状が消失しないため受診したと報告したが、女性は心疾患を心配して受診する確率が低かった。研究者らは2008～2012年における米国104の病院の18～55歳の心筋梗塞（MI）患者2,990人を調査した。患者に直接問診を行ったところ、大部分の女性および男性（男性の90%、女性の87%）が急性MIに伴い胸痛、胸部圧迫感、絞扼感および胸部不快感を経験していた。問診から、女性の3人に1人、男性の5人に1人が入院前に症状のために受診していた。医療提供者から、その症状が心臓による可能性があり再受診して心疾患に関して医師と話すように言われたのは、男性よりも女性に少ない傾向にあった。約60%の男女が彼等の症状は心臓によるものではないと思っていた。女性は消化不良、ストレスまたは不安によるものと考え、男性は消化不良や筋肉痛と考える傾向にあった。
Full Text

Young adults are less likely to attribute chest pain to heart-related problems, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2012. However, more women than men reported waiting more than a day to seek care. Both genders reported seeking care because their symptoms weren't going away, but women were less likely to seek care because of concern about heart disease.

Researchers studied 2,990 myocardial infarction (MI) patients, ages 18 to 55, from 104 U.S. hospitals in 2008-12. Based on direct patient interviews, the vast majority of women and men (90 percent of men and 87 percent of women) experienced chest pain, pressure, tightness or discomfort with their acute MI. Patient interviews also revealed:

  • Almost one in three women and one in five men visited their doctor for symptoms before their hospitalizations.
  • Women were less likely than men to be told by healthcare providers that their symptoms might be heart related, or to recall discussing heart disease with their doctors.
  • Almost 60 percent of the men and women thought their symptoms were not heart related. Women commonly cited indigestion, stress or anxiety; men reported indigestion or muscle pain.

While young men and women predominantly present with chest pain, young women more commonly misattribute their symptoms to a non-cardiac cause.

Judith H. Lichtman, Ph.D., M.P.H.; Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, Conn. was primary investigator and presented the study.