Cause of heart attacks among women misdiagnosed: Mayo Clinic

While clogged arteries are the most common cause of heart attacks, more than half of heart attacks in women under the age of 65 can be attributed to other causes, according to a study published Sept. 15 in JACC. 

Led by Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic researchers, the study analyzed data from 1,474 heart attacks between January 2003 to March 2018 that occurred in patients under the age of 65 living in Olmsted County, Minn.

Here are three notes on the study:

1. Atherothrombosis accounted for 68% of all heart attacks, 75% of heart attacks in men and 47% of heart attacks in women.
2. Among women, 34% of heart attacks were caused by secondary myocardial infarction and 11% by spontaneous coronary artery dissection.

   Secondary myocardial infarction and spontaneous coronary artery dissection caused 19% and .07% of heart attacks in men, respectively.

3. Of heart attacks caused by SCAD among women, 55% were misclassified as atherothrombosis or myocardial infarction with no obstructive coronary artery disease.

Read the full study here. 

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