According to this recent study looking at exercise capacity in patients with HCM, women with HCM demonstrated reduced exercise capacity when compared to men. This paper theorizes that the differences are likely attributable to passive diastolic properties and that these could aid in the development of interventions specifically targeted for women.
Recent HCM research has taken a much needed pivot away from a focus on adult men to the exclusion of others. Women and babies get HCM too, yet until this point, there has been far less attention and research on their issues. HCM is not just a disease of adult men, though they do make up the majority of participants in research studies which inform current treatment protocols.
Finally that may be changing. It seems that people are finally starting to pay some attention to other folks who have HCM. Here is a recent European article looking at HCM in infants and here is a recent article looking at HCM in women.
Let’s hope the trend continues since previous research has shown that HCM is often more severe in these two groups.
This past article on HCMBeat takes a look at the more severe clinical course of HCM in women while this past article discusses the severity of HCM in children.
A recent retrospective study by researchers using data from the SHaRe Registry found that women with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy have an increased risk of death and/or severe heart failure symptoms when compared to their male counterparts. This study also found that women tended to be older when diagnosed with HCM than men.
This study echoes a 2017 study from Mayo Clinic with similar findings.
Editor’s Note: It is clear that serious research into gender differences in HCM is needed. And, it is vitally important that women with HCM be persistent and diligent in obtaining expert care for their HCM. Their lives depend on it!
A recent study published in the European Heart Journal by doctors from the Mayo Clinic showed that women with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) have a statistically reduced rate of survival as compared to men with HCM.
According to an article in the Wall Street Journal citing a recent study in the Annals of Internal Medicine, African-Americans with ICDs were 14% more likely to have complications than white patients with implantable defibrillators, and while women with ICDs were 16% more likely to have complications than men with implantable defibrillators.
The sex-based differences were attributed to the fact that women are generally diagnosed with heart disease later than men, and the fact the device testing process largely omits women, while the race-based differences were less clear, but may have resulted from diminished access to health care by African-American patients.
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