Gender differences among patients with arterial hypertension and heart failure with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction

Abstract

The aim – assessment of gender differences in the frequency of comorbidities, structural and functional state of the heart, arterial stiffness, pulse load and ventricular-arterial interaction in patients with hypertension and heart failure with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction.
Material and methods. 115 patients were diagnosed with HFpEF II A or II B stage, II or III NYHA FC, with LV EF ≥ 50 % and signs of LV diastolic dysfunction by TTE, and were divided into 2 groups by gender (group 1 – women with AH and HFpEF, and group 2 – men with hypertension and HFpEF). The control group consisted of 58 patients matched for age, gender composition, with AH 1–2 degrees, without heart failure; they were also divided into 2 groups (groups 3 and 4, respectively).
Results. The examined groups of patients did not statistically differ regarding age and, among patients with HF, men and women did not differ in frequency of II or III FC (NYHA); among men, earlier MI was noted more frequently than in women – 23 (37.1 %) vs 4 (7.5 %) (P<0.001). BMI among women with or without HF was higher (30.3±5.4 vs. 29.8±4.6 and 32.0±4.5 vs. 30.0±3.2, P<0.05), without differences in the frequency of obesity. In women, the average GFR was lower – 61.2±13.5 vs. 74.4±15.2 and 70.6±1.3 vs. 86.1±17.9 (by 13.3 % and 18 %, respectively, P<0.001) Among patients with HFpEF, the prevalence of anemia was higher in women (16 (30.2 %) vs. 7 (11.3 %), P<0.05). The distance of the 6-minute walk test was significantly less in the group of patients with HF of both genders compared with the control group (353.4±91.6 vs. 553.2±56.6 and 384.3±83.5 vs. 569.8±33.7, P<0.01), with a slightly worse result among women (by 8 %, P<0.01). In women with HF, compared with men, there were elevated rates of both arterial elastance Ea — 2.3±0.6 vs.1.9±0.4, P<0.05 (by 17.4 %), and end-systolic stiffness Ees – 3.3±1.3 vs. 3.0±1.1, P<0.05 (by 9.1 %). Despite similar values of brachial BP and central BP in women with HF, compared to men, larger PWWc-f was noted by 9.5 % (12.8±1.5 vs. 12.2±1.4, P<0.05) and AIx75 by 9.2 % (37.7±12 1 vs. 34.7±8.9, P<0.05).
Conclusions. In the population of the examined patients with AH and HFpEF there is a tendency towards more pronounced diastolic LV dysfunction, severity of clinical manifestations of heart failure in women, in comparison with men, in the absence of gender differences. Women with HFpEF have a higher resistive and pulsative load on LV. Thus, in women with hypertension, there is an increased tendency to develop HFpEF compared to men.