Despite decades of research, cardiovascular disease kills more than half a million women each year, a greater number than the subsequent 16 causes of death combined. After an acute myocardial infarction (MI), women have a 16% mortality rate compared with 11% for men. Therefore, further investigation of acute MI in women is essential. Research investigating delay in seeking treatment associated with MI consistently reports women delay seeking treatment because they do not recognize symptoms of MI since their symptoms differ from expectations. Since delay in seeking treatment is associated with less effective and fewer treatment options, longer hospitalizations, and higher mortality and morbidity rates, women's symptomatology must be delineated. There is a growing consensus among clinicians and researchers that women with MI experience different symptoms than men do. However, few studies have specifically focused on women's symptoms of MI and heart disease or addressed prodromal symptoms, those symptoms that come and go prior to and change after the MI. To fill this void in research on women with MI and heart disease, the objective of this proposal is to delineate prodromal and acute symptoms of MI. White, black, and Hispanic women will be targeted since they delay seeking treatment longer than other groups, are more likely to have cardiac risk factors, and have higher mortality rates after MI. The researchers will conduct a telephone survey of 1540 women from 8 medical centers. To ensure representation of ethnic minorities, quotas will be set at a minimum of 186 black and 171 Hispanic women. The women will be queried about their prodromal and acute symptoms of MI and cardiovascular risk status four to six months after their MI. This allows them time to identify prodromal symptoms of their MI. The data will be analyzed to compare prodromal and acute symptoms of white, black, and Hispanic women when contributing for cardiovascular risk status. Results of this study will help us to more fully describe prodromal and acute symptomatology in women with heart disease and MI.
