*Importance of socioeconomic status in predicting heart attack and cardiovascular death in women. (Embargoed until 12:00 noon Central Time (1:00 p.m. ET), Monday, November 14.) The strong relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and cardiovascular disease is known. However, the impact of SES on heart attacks and cardiovascular death in women is complex, as women are more likely to live in poverty than men. To help clarify this complex relationship, Women's Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation (WISE) study investigators explored the relative contributions of SES factors compared to traditional heart disease risk factors on heart attack and death in 819 women. Through exams, medical histories and records, questionnaires, and angiography, the scientists obtained extensive information on such SES factors as ethnicity, marital status, highest level of education, retirement status, income, and health insurance coverage. During the 5 years of follow-up, there were 92 deaths or heart attacks. In general, women with the following characteristics were more likely to have negative heart-related outcomes: less than a 9th grade education, being African American, Hispanic, Asian, or American Indian, on public insurance, unmarried, with annual household income less than $20,000, disabled, employed less than full time, and in service or technical jobs. An evaluation of all SES factors revealed that insurance status and income were the single greatest predictors of a participant's cardiovascular status. When the scientists controlled for severity of coronary artery disease as shown on angiography, income rema
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15-Nov-2005