[Women and acute coronary syndrome with ST elevation: Excess mortality related to longer delays and spontaneous coronary dissection].

The outcome of patients with ST elevation acute coronary syndrome (ACS) has been increasingly improving in the general population over the past few decades. However, detailed analysis of the results show that the reduction in mortality rates is higher in males compared to their female counterparts. The excess mortality rate observed in women, though sometimes questioned, has been widely reported in the literature. The higher mortality rate observed in women with ST elevation ACS can be explained by the presence of aggravating clinical factors such as older age, a higher percentage of diabetics, and a higher frequency of cardiogenic shock. Other factors pertaining to patient management seem to negatively impact the outcome. These factors include a lower use of reperfusion strategies, longer time to treatment mainly as a result of diagnostic uncertainty with respect to a disease, which is believed to affect principally the male gender. The doubts that female patients themselves and their families have about the nature of their symptoms are also present in the medical environment but cease to exist in the catheterization laboratory. This is illustrated in the first clinical case that we present here. Coronary reperfusion is the cornerstone of the therapeutic management of MI. In this context, bleeding complications associated with the implemented treatments can also result in an increased mortality rate in this more vulnerable population. When all the factors likely to influence the prognosis are taken into account, excess mortality seems to persist in women, especially in younger patients. As described in the second clinical case, a distinct physio-pathological factor, more frequent in women, could account for this higher mortality rate. Indeed, spontaneous coronary dissection and intramural hematoma are not always easy to diagnose and may not be adequately managed by reperfusion treatments. In addition, these coronary reperfusion strategies are probably not adapted to this type of ACS. It is, therefore, very important to identify them by angiography coupled with intra-coronary imaging examination when necessary and to carry out further research to adjust our PCI techniques to this pathology.