Heart failure in women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: Insights from the cardiovascular disease in Norway project

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) have been associated with heart failure (HF). It is unknown whether concurrent pregnancy complications (small-for-gestational-age or preterm delivery) or recurrent HDP modify HDP-associated HF risk. In this cohort study, we included Norwegian women with a first birth between 1980 and 2004. Follow-up occurred through 2009. Cox models examined gestational hypertension and preeclampsia in the first pregnancy as predictors of a composite of HF-related hospitalization or HF-related death, with assessment of effect modification by concurrent small-for-gestational-age or preterm delivery. Additional models were stratified by final parity (1 versus ≥2 births) and tested associations with recurrent HDP. Among 508 422 women, 565 experienced incident HF over a median 11.8 years of follow-up. After multivariable adjustment, gestational hypertension in the first birth was not significantly associated with HF (hazard ratio, 1.41 [95% CI, 0.84–2.35], P=0.19), whereas preeclampsia was associated with a hazard ratio of 2.00 (95% CI, 1.50–2.68, P<0.001). Among women with HDP, risks were not modified by concurrent small-for-gestational-age or preterm delivery (Pinteraction=0.42). Largest hazards of HF were observed in women whose only lifetime birth was complicated by preeclampsia and women with recurrent preeclampsia. HF risks were similar after excluding women with coronary artery disease. In summary, women with preeclampsia, especially those with one lifetime birth and those with recurrent preeclampsia, experienced increased HF risk compared to women without HDP. Further research is needed to clarify causal mechanisms.acceptedVersio

Association of premature menopause with incident pulmonary hypertension: A cohort study.

BackgroundSeveral forms of pulmonary hypertension (PH) disproportionately affect women. Animal and human studies suggest that estradiol exerts mixed effects on the pulmonary vasculature. Whether premature menopause represents a risk factor for PH is unknown.Methods and findingsIn this cohort study, women in the UK Biobank aged 40-69 years who were postmenopausal and had complete data available on reproductive history were included. Premature menopause, defined as menopause occurring before age 40 years. Postmenopausal women without premature menopause served as the reference group. The primary outcome was incident PH, ascertained by appearance of a qualifying ICD code in the participant's UK Biobank study record. Of 136,715 postmenopausal women included, 5,201 (3.8%) had premature menopause. Participants were followed up for a median of 11.1 (interquartile range 10.5-11.8) years. The primary outcome occurred in 38 women (0.73%) with premature menopause and 409 (0.31%) without. After adjustment for age, race, ever-smoking, body-mass index, systolic blood pressure, antihypertensive medication use, non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, cholesterol-lowering medication use, C-reactive protein, prevalent type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, heart failure, mitral regurgitation, aortic stenosis, venous thromboembolism, forced vital capacity (FVC), the forced expiratory volume in 1 second-to-FVC ratio, use of menopausal hormone therapy, and hysterectomy status, premature menopause was independently associated with PH (hazard ratio 2.13, 95% CI 1.31-3.23, PConclusionsPremature menopause may represent an independent risk factor for PH in women. Further investigation of the role of sex hormones in PH is needed in animal and human studies to elucidate pathobiology and identify novel therapeutic targets

Multimodality Imaging in the Detection of Ischemic Heart Disease in Women

Women with coronary artery disease tend to have a worse short and long-term prognosis relative to men and the incidence of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is increasing. Women are less likely to present with classic anginal symptoms when compared with men and more likely to be misdiagnosed. Several non-invasive imaging modalities are available for diagnosing ischemic heart disease in women and many of these modalities can also assist with prognostication and help to guide management. Selection of the optimal imaging modality to evaluate women with possible ischemic heart disease is a scenario which clinicians often encounter. Earlier modalities such as exercise treadmill testing demonstrate significant performance variation in men and women, while newer modalities such as coronary CT angiography, myocardial perfusion imaging and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging are highly specific and sensitive for the detection of ischemia and coronary artery disease with greater parity between sexes. Individual factors, availability, diagnostic performance, and female-specific considerations such as pregnancy status may influence the decision to select one modality over another. Emerging techniques such as strain rate imaging, CT-myocardial perfusion imaging and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging present additional options for diagnosing ischemia and coronary microvascular dysfunction

Interventions Targeted to Address Social Determinants of Health in Ischemic Heart Disease: A Sex- and Gender-Oriented Scoping Review

The burden of ischemic heart disease (IHD) is a major health problem worldwide. The detrimental effect of gendered (ie, unevenly distributed between female and male) socioeconomic determinants of health (SDOH) on outcomes has been demonstrated, more so in female individuals. Therefore, addressing SDOH is a priority for the care implementation of patients with IHD. We conducted a scoping review to identify the types of SDOH-tailored interventions tested in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) among IHD patients, and whether the reporting of findings was sex-unbiased. We identified 8 SDOH domains: education, physical environment, health care system, economic stability, social support, sexual orientation, culture/language, and systemic racism. A total of 28 RCTs (2 ongoing) were evaluated. Since the 1990s, 26 RCTs have been conducted, mainly in the Middle East and Asia, and addressed only education, physical environment, health care system, and social support. The 77% of studies focused on patient-education interventions, and around 80% on SDOH-based interventions achieved positive effects on a variety of primary outcome(s). Among the limitations of the conducted RCTs, the most relevant were an overall low participation of female and racial/ethnical minority participants, a lack of sex-stratified analyses, and a missing opportunity of tailoring some SDOH interventions relevant for health. The SDOH-tailored interventions tested so far in RCTs, enrolling predominantly male patients and mainly targeting education and health literacy, were effective in improving outcomes among patients with IHD. Future studies should focus on a wider range of SDOH with an adequate representation of female and minority patients who would most benefit from such interventions