Gender differences in clinical manifestations of Brugada syndrome.
OBJECTIVE
We sought to assess differences in phenotype and prognosis between men and women in a large population of patients with Brugada syndrome.


BACKGROUND
A male predominance has been reported in the Brugada syndrome. No specific data are available, however, concerning gender differences in the clinical manifestations and their role in prognosis.


METHODS
Patients with Brugada syndrome were prospectively included in the study. Data on baseline characteristics, electrocardiogram parameters before and after pharmacological test, and events in follow-up were recorded for all patients.


RESULTS
Among 384 patients, 272 (70.8%) were men and 112 (29.2%) women. At inclusion, men had experienced syncope more frequently (18%) or aborted sudden cardiac death (6%) than women (14% and 1%, respectively, p = 0.04). Men also had greater rates of spontaneous type-1 electrocardiogram, greater ST-segment elevation, and greater inducibility of ventricular fibrillation (p < 0.001 for all). Conversely, conduction parameters and corrected QT intervals significantly increased more in women in response to sodium blockers (p = 0.03 and p = 0.001, respectively). During a mean follow-up of 58 +/- 48 months, sudden cardiac death or documented ventricular fibrillation occurred in 31 men (11.6%) and 3 women (2.8%; p = 0.003). The presence of previous symptoms was the most important predictor for cardiac events in men, whereas a longer PR interval was identified among those women with a greater risk in this series.


CONCLUSIONS
Men with Brugada syndrome present with a greater risk clinical profile than women and have a worse prognosis. Although classical risk factors identify male patients with worse outcome, conduction disturbances could be a marker of risk in the female population.
Benito
Begoña
B
Cardiology Department, The Thorax Institute, Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Sarkozy
Andrea
A
Mont
Lluis
L
Henkens
Stephan
S
Berruezo
Antonio
A
Tamborero
David
D
Arzamendi
Dabit
D
Berne
Paola
P
Brugada
Ramon
R
Brugada
Pedro
P
Brugada
Josep
J
D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D053840:Brugada Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000628:therapy; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011336:Probability; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011792:Quebec / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D016019:Survival Analysis