Article Text
Abstract
Aortic stenosis (AS) is a common valve disorder in an ageing population in western countries, and women, with longer life expectancy, comprise a substantial percentage of elderly patients with AS. Compared with men, women exhibit distinctive characteristics at the level of stenotic valve leaflets and subsequent compensatory responses of the left ventricle to chronic pressure overload, and in clinical presentation, consequences and response to intervention. Randomised controlled trials of transcatheter aortic valve implantation have yielded new evidence of sex differences in both short-term and long-term outcomes after intervention. A comprehensive knowledge of the existing evidence may inform our understanding of gender differences during assessment and treatment of patients with AS. In this paper, we review the available evidence regarding sex differences in AS in terms of symptoms, clinical presentation, anatomical differences and pathophysiological progression, management and outcomes after aortic valve replacement. Implications for further research are suggested.
- aortic stenosis
- echocardiography
- prosthetic heart valves
- valvular heart disease
- cardiac imaging and diagnostics
Statistics from Altmetric.com
Footnotes
Twitter @pattypellikka
Correction notice Since the online publication of this article, Figure 1 has been updated to remove the legend that was present in the figure file.
Contributors YS and PAP planned the document. YS drafted the first version. Both authors have contributed to extensive revisions. Both are responsible for the entire overall content.
Funding PAP is supported as the Betty Knight Scripps Professor of Clinical Cardiology Research. YS was supported by a scholarship from Huashan Hospital Fudan University.
Competing interests None declared.
Patient and public involvement Patients and/or the public were not involved in the design, or conduct, or reporting, or dissemination plans of this research.
Patient consent for publication Not required.
Provenance and peer review Commissioned; externally peer reviewed.