[Response to drug therapy of cardiac failure according to gender]

Abstract

The general profile of women with cardiac failure differs from that of the male population, especially with respect to aetiology and prognosis. Women are often older, have preserved systolic function more often and a higher incidence of risk factors such as hypertension and diabetes. Moreover, global mortality is lower in women. From the therapeutic point of view, women with symptomatic left ventricular dysfunction probably benefit from ACE inhibitors but those with asymptomatic dysfunction have no reduction in mortality with this class of drugs. In addition, treatment with ACE inhibitors is usually interrupted in women because of a higher incidence of secondary effects. The poorer tolerance could be explained by the profile of women with cardiac failure. The large scale multicentre trials with betablockers included very few women. In MERIT-HF, in which there was a large number of women (23%), the female subgroup was the only one in which a benefit in mortality was not demonstrated. However, a retrospective analysis of the data of this subgroup plus a meta-analysis of all trials with betablockers does show improved mortality with this class of drugs in women. In a retrospective study of the DIG study, there seems to be a difference in the effects of digoxin between men and women; the prescription of digoxin is associated with a higher overall mortality in women. Finally, women seem to require diuretics more often than do men. There are many explanations for the differences observed in therapeutic responses between men and women. The role of sex hormones is often evoked, although it has never been clinically proved. The treatment of heart failure in women should take clinical and biological factors specific to women into account and may explain the relative inefficacy of certain forms of treatment.