title: Does sex influence the incidence or severity of reperfusion-induced cardiac arrhythmias?
abstract: Whether sex affects the acute phase of myocardial ischemia in experimental animal models is currently being debated. Our purpose was to determine if sex influences either the incidence or severity of reperfusion-induced arrhythmias resulting from a brief coronary occlusion. Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to the study. Anesthetized animals were subjected to a 5-minute coronary artery occlusion followed by 5 minutes of reperfusion. Mortality differed by sex: 10/27 (37%) of males died due to VT/VF while only 1/16 females (6%) died due to VT/VF (p = 0.033). Quantitative analysis of the electrocardiogram was performed on data acquired from 17 male and 15 female survivors. Analysis showed no other significant differences in ventricular arrhythmias between the two groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Lethal reperfusion-induced arrhythmias led to a higher mortality in male rats versus female rats. Among survivors there was no difference in any other arrhythmic parameters measured.
authors.affiliation: The Heart Institute, Good Samaritan Hospital, Los Angeles, CA USA.
authors.forename: Joan S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Dow
authors.affiliation: The Heart Institute, Good Samaritan Hospital, Los Angeles, CA USA.
authors.forename: Anil
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bhandari
authors.affiliation: The Heart Institute, Good Samaritan Hospital, Los Angeles, CA USA ; Huntington Medical Research Institutes, Pasadena, CA USA.
authors.forename: Sharon L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Hale
authors.affiliation: The Heart Institute, Good Samaritan Hospital, Los Angeles, CA USA ; Huntington Medical Research Institutes, Pasadena, CA USA ; Keck School of Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA USA.
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Kloner
keywords: Arrhythmias; Mortality; Myocardial ischemia and reperfusion; Sex