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Review
. 2024 Feb 2;13(3):881.
doi: 10.3390/jcm13030881.

Gender Effect on Clinical Profiles, Pharmacological Treatments and Prognosis in Patients Hospitalized for Heart Failure

Luca Fazzini  1 , Mattia Casati  1 , Alessandro Martis  1 , Ferdinando Perra  1 , Paolo Rubiolo  1 , Martino Deidda  1   2 , Giuseppe Mercuro  1 , Christian Cadeddu Dessalvi  1
Affiliations
Review

Gender Effect on Clinical Profiles, Pharmacological Treatments and Prognosis in Patients Hospitalized for Heart Failure

Luca Fazzini et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

Heart failure (HF) is a significant disease affecting 1-2% of the general population. Despite its general aspects, HF, like other cardiovascular diseases, presents various gender-specific aspects in terms of etiology, hemodynamics, clinical characteristics, therapy, and outcomes. As is well known, HF with preserved ejection fraction more frequently affects females, with diabetes and arterial hypertension representing the most critical determinants of HF. On the other hand, women are traditionally underrepresented in clinical trials and are often considered undertreated. However, it is not clear whether such differences reflect cultural behaviors and clinical inertia or if they indicate different clinical profiles and the impact of sex on hard clinical outcomes. We aimed to review the sex-related differences in patients affected by HF.

Keywords: acute heart failure; gender medicine; pharmacological treatments; prognosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Main gender differences in clinical profile, pharmacological treatment, and prognosis in patients hospitalized for heart failure. COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. ARBs: angiotensin receptor blockers. SGLT2i: sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitor. CRT: cardiac resynchronization therapy. ICD: implantable cardioverter defibrillator.
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