Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction in women: the Dutch Queen of Hearts program

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Biomarker Discovery
• Women's Health

Background:

• Heart failure (HF) is a significant health burden, with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) increasingly prevalent, especially in older women.
• HFpEF is associated with risk factors like obesity, hypertension, and diabetes, potentially driven by microvascular disease.
• Current HFpEF diagnosis relies on echocardiography, lacking specific biomarkers for early detection or gender-specific pathology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To discover and validate novel blood-derived biomarkers for diastolic dysfunction and HFpEF in women.
• To identify biomarkers from extracellular vesicles and circulating cells for improved diagnosis and potential point-of-care applications.
• To gain insights into the gender-specific pathology of HFpEF, potentially leading to new therapeutic strategies.

Main Methods:

• Initiation of the Queen of Hearts consortium, a Dutch initiative supported by the Netherlands Heart Foundation.
• Focus on innovative blood-derived sources, including extracellular vesicles and circulating cells.
• Development of biomarkers with potential for point-of-care assay evolution.

Main Results:

• The Queen of Hearts consortium is actively pursuing the discovery and validation of female-specific HFpEF biomarkers.
• Exploration of extracellular vesicles and circulating cells as sources for novel diagnostic markers.
• Progress towards understanding gender-specific HFpEF pathology.

Conclusions:

• There is an urgent need for mortality-reducing therapies and improved diagnostic tools for HFpEF in women.
• The Queen of Hearts consortium aims to address this gap by identifying and validating novel biomarkers.
• This research may pave the way for gender-specific treatments and point-of-care diagnostics for HFpEF.