Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Jun 26;73(1):58.
doi: 10.1186/s43044-021-00184-3.

Valvular heart diseases in women

Ghada Youssef  1
Affiliations
Review

Valvular heart diseases in women

Ghada Youssef. Egypt Heart J. .

Abstract

Background: Valvular heart disease is a common health problem affecting both sexes and all age groups. Almost all guidelines are based on studies that mainly involved male patients.

Main body: The features of valvular heart diseases in women were essentially derived from small observational studies. These studies have shown that women differ from men in terms of the type of valve disease, pathology affecting the valve, perception of symptoms, parameters measured in echocardiography, response to drugs, surgical techniques, and postoperative outcomes. This review was conducted to demonstrate the uniqueness of valvular heart diseases in women and raise awareness about the need for sex-based randomized study designs to provide a piece of proper evidence to support suitable sex-based guidelines and recommendations. Moreover, it briefly describes the effects of pregnancy on women with valvular heart diseases and the impact of the latter on the course of pregnancy and the well-being of the mother and fetus.

Conclusion: Valvular heart diseases in women are different from those in men. Sex-based guidelines for managing valvular heart diseases are needed.

Keywords: Pregnancy; Valvular heart diseases; Women.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The author declares that there are no competing interests.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Nitsche C, Koschutnik M, Kammerlander A, Hengstenberg C, Mascherbauer J. Gender-specific differences in valvular heart disease. Wien Klin Wochenschr. 2020;132(3-4):61–68. doi: 10.1007/s00508-019-01603-x. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wingate S. Cardiovascular anatomy and physiology in the female. Crit Care Nurs Clin North Am. 1997;9(4):447–452. doi: 10.1016/S0899-5885(18)30237-5. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lutsenko O (2018) Highlights on hemodynamics. Chapter 2: Functioning of the cardiovascular system of women in different phases of the ovarian-menstrual cycle. IntechOpen
    1. Regitz-Zagrosek V, Roos-Hesselink JW, Bauersachs J, Blomstrom-Lundqvist C, Cifkova R, De Bonis M, et al. 2018 ESC Guidelines for the management of cardiovascular diseases during pregnancy. Eur Heart J. 2018;39(34):3165–3241. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehy340. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Soma-Pillay P, Nelson-Piercy C, Tolppanen H, Mebazaa A. Physiological changes in pregnancy. Cardiovasc J Afr. 2016;27(2):89–94. doi: 10.5830/CVJA-2016-021. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources