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Gender differences in coronary artery diameter are not related to body habitus or left ventricular mass

Amit K Hiteshi1, Dong Li, Yanlin Gao

  • 1Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute, Department of Medicine, Harbor University of California Los Angeles Medical Center, Torrance, California.

Clinical Cardiology
|October 2, 2014
PubMed

Insights

Women have smaller coronary arteries than men, a difference not explained by body size or heart mass. This finding may impact cardiovascular procedures like PCI and CABG.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Radiology
  • Anatomy

Background:

  • Smaller coronary artery diameter is linked to poorer outcomes in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).
  • Previous suggestions of gender-based differences in coronary artery size lacked large-scale validation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate and confirm if women have smaller coronary artery diameters compared to men.
  • To determine if these potential differences persist after accounting for body habitus and left ventricular mass (LVM).

Main Methods:

  • Computed tomography angiography was used to evaluate 710 subjects (383 males, 327 females) with low coronary artery calcium (CAC) scores.
  • Diameters of the left main (LM), left anterior descending (LAD), left circumflex (CX), and right coronary arteries (RCA) were measured.
  • Statistical analyses, including multiple regression, were performed, adjusting for covariates like age, race, body composition, and LVM.

Main Results:

  • Women exhibited significantly smaller diameters in the LM, LAD, CX, and RCA compared to men, even after adjustments.
  • The observed gender-based difference in coronary artery diameter was independent of body habitus and LVM.
  • P-values were < 0.001 for all measured arteries, indicating statistical significance.

Conclusions:

  • Gender is a significant determinant of coronary artery diameter in the LM, LAD, CX, and RCA.
  • These findings suggest a need for gender-specific considerations in planning and executing PCI and CABG procedures.
  • The study highlights the necessity of exploring inherent biological differences between genders to explain the observed disparities in coronary artery dimensions.
Abstract

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