Impact of female sex on outcome after percutaneous coronary intervention

Background Prior reports have suggested that women have increased mortality compared to men following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). It remains unclear if this difference is secondary to sex or other confounding variables. Methods We sought to examine the characteristics and outcomes of 18039 consecutive women and men undergoing PCI at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation from 1992–2002. Results Procedural success rates were similar in both sexes, but the female cohort had a greater incidence of access site hematoma (5% vs. 2%, P < .0001) and blood product transfusion (12% vs. 4%, P < .0001) following PCI. The rate of myocardial infarction (MI) at 1 year was slightly higher among females (10% vs. 9%, P = .004), but revascularization rates were not significantly different between sexes. One-year mortality was also higher in the female cohort (7% vs. 5%, P < .0001). After adjustment in a multivariate model, the Cox proportional hazard ratio for mortality in females was 1.01 (95% CI 0.93–1.11, P = .78). The hazard ratio for the combined endpoint of death or MI was 1.05 (95% CI 0.97–1.13, P = .23). Conclusions After adjustment for differences in comorbidities, the risk for long-term mortality is not significantly different between sexes following PCI. However, there is a greater incidence of post-procedural bleeding complications among women.