Women heart attack survivors experience worse outcomes than men, a new study by the Yale School of Medicine shows.

The research led by Dr Harlam Krumholz, the director of the Yale-New Haven Hospital Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, examined more than 230,000 cases of hospitalized patients suffering from an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) between 2001 and 2010. The patients were aged between 30 and 54 years and the researchers concentrated on age and sex-based differences in the hospitalization rates. The team also looked into the patient outcomes after discharge.

The research findings revealed that the hospitalization rates were higher in men than in women. But, women stayed in hospitals for a longer time than men and had more comorbidities, meaning they had more than one disease at a time. This explains why women have higher in-hospital death rate than men. In terms of age, the researchers found that the rates of AMI for younger men and women did not change. But, the rates for older people decreased by 20 percent.

"It is concerning that hospitalization rates for heart attack in the young have not shown any reduction, suggesting that lack of awareness and poorer control of cardiovascular risk factors-including diabetes, high blood pressure, and smoking may be responsible," said lead author Aakriti Gupta, a resident at the Yale School of Medicine, said in a press release.

The researchers said that they are planning to identify the possible fundamental biological factors that contribute to poor outcomes seen in female patients. They stated that after finding out these factors they hope that future treatments and preventive measures can help reduce those rates.

The study, 'Trends in Acute Myocardial Infarction in Young Patients and Differences by Sex and Race, 2001 to 2010', was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.