Study of coronary lesions in black African woman: Preliminary data from the «REgistre Prospectif des Actes de Cardiologie Interventionnelle de l'Institut de Cardiologie d'Abidjan (REPACI)»

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the characteristics of coronary lesions in black African woman. Methods: This is a comparative analysis of data from the current registry of interventional cardiology of the Abidjan Heart Institute (REPACI) which included unselected patients aged ≥ years, who underwent coronary angiography for suspected or known coronary artery disease. Epidemiological, clinical and angiographic data were analyzed comparatively between genders. Results: Of the 188 patients included, one in five patients were women (16.5 % women and 83.5 % men). The mean age was 51.3 ± 11.2 years in women vs 52 ± 10.7 years in males, p = 0.40. Women were more obese (OR: 2.3 95 % CI 1-5.4, p0.04) when smoking was more common among men (OR: 3.8, 95%CI 1.1-13.2, p0.02). There was no difference in clinical presentation accor ding to gender. The absence of obstructive coronary artery disease was more prevalent in women (51.1% vs 38.4 % in men; 0R= 2.6, 95%CI 1.2-5.7, p=0.01). The rate of normal coronary angiography was higher among women (38.7% vs 19.1% in men, OR: 2.6, 95%CI 1.17-6.10, p=0.01), while the presence of significant stenotic lesions was more common in men. These differences persisted after adjusting for risk factors and clinical presentation. Conclusion: African women had high probability to have non-obstructive coronary artery disease and normal coronary arteries, contrary to men who had significant stenotic lesions, despite the absence of differences in clinical presentation. Wider data with refined diagnostic tools should better clarify the characteristics of coronary lesions in black African women.