title: Sex-dependent pathophysiological mechanisms in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: implications for rhythm disorders.
abstract: Differences in cardiac physiology are seen between men and women in terms of health and disease. Sex differences start to develop at puberty and are maintained during aging. The prevalence of almost all cardiovascular diseases is found to be higher in men than in women, and disease progression tends to be more rapid in male than in female patients. In cohorts of patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), the most common autosomal inherited cardiac disease, men are overrepresented, suggesting increased penetrance of HCM-causing mutations in male patients. Cardiac remodeling in patients with HCM is higher in men than in women, the same is seen in HCM animal models. Patients with HCM are at increased risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) and developing rhythm disorders. There seems to be no sex effect on the risk of SCD or arrhythmias in patients with HCM; however, animal studies suggest that certain mutations predispose men to SCD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Institute for Cardiovascular Research. Electronic address: la.nijenkamp@vumc.nl.
authors.forename: Louise L A M
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Nijenkamp
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Institute for Cardiovascular Research; Department of Cardiology, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ahmet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Güçlü
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Yolande
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Appelman
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Institute for Cardiovascular Research; ICIN - Netherlands Heart Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jolanda
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: van der Velden
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Institute for Cardiovascular Research.
authors.forename: Diederik W D
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Kuster
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002312:Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D014943:Global Health; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors
keywords: Arrhythmias; Atrial fibrillation; Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy; Pathophysiology; Sex; Sudden cardiac death