WEDNESDAY, May 17 (HealthDay News) -- Male stroke patients are more likely to die or develop pneumonia than their female counterparts, according to research presented recently at the American Heart Association's 7th Scientific Forum on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research in Washington, D.C.
Allan Anderson, M.D., of Medical City Dallas Hospital in Texas, and colleagues analyzed 56,417 stroke patients, 56 percent of them women, who were admitted to 166 hospitals from 2003-2004. The female patients had an average age of 73 years compared to 67 years for men.
There were no differences in the percentages of women and men who experienced ischemic, embolic and thrombotic strokes, and there were no gender differences in the long-term use of anticoagulants, aspirin or antiplatelet therapy. Thrombolytic therapy use was low among both sexes (1.28 percent for women compared to 1.7 percent for men). The researchers found the male patients, despite their younger age, were more likely to die (OR, 1.08) or develop pneumonia (OR, 1.90), and that male stroke survivors were more likely to be discharged home (OR, 1.15).
"Given the dire consequences of stroke, further research is needed to improve the outcomes of both men and women," the authors conclude.
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