Gender Differences in Hispanic Patients of Mexican Origin Hospitalized with Heart Failure

• Published in: Women's health issues 2020-09, Vol.30 (5), p.384-392
• Main Authors: Carlson, Beverly, Hoyt, Helina, Kunath, Julie, Bratzke, Lisa C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1049-3867; 1878-4321
• DOI: 10.1016/j.whi.2020.06.002

More than 3 million women in the United States die of heart failure (HF) annually. Women are significantly underrepresented in studies that inform practice guidelines, especially women hospitalized for HF despite the associated negative outcomes. HF is common in Hispanic people, the largest ethnic minority group in the United States, who are mostly of Mexican origin. There are no studies of gender differences in Mexican-Hispanic persons hospitalized for HF. We sought to describe gender differences in demographic and clinical characteristics, clinical presentation, treatment, in-hospital outcomes, and discharge status in Mexican-Hispanic patients hospitalized for HF. We conducted a secondary analysis of data collected for a study examining readmission in patients hospitalized with HF in a 107-bed community; hospital near the U.S.–Mexico border. Of 155 self-identified Hispanic patients, 43.2% (n = 67) were women. Compared with men, women were equally affected by obesity, on average 6 years older (p