Gender differences in patients with structural heart disease undergoing VT ablation

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Electrophysiology
• Medical Research

Background:

• Female patients are underrepresented in cardiovascular studies.
• Previous research indicates potential differences in clinical presentation, treatment, and prognosis for women with heart conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate gender-based differences in patients with structural heart disease (SHD) undergoing ventricular tachycardia (VT) ablation.
• To compare clinical characteristics, procedural outcomes, and long-term results between male and female patients.

Main Methods:

• A case-control study comparing 88 female patients with 88 male patients with SHD undergoing VT ablation.
• Analysis of clinical and procedural characteristics, acute and long-term results, and mortality rates.

Main Results:

• Female patients exhibited a more arrhythmogenic substrate, presenting more frequently with electrical storm and having more inducible VT morphologies.
• Women were less likely to receive optimized heart failure medical treatment and had a longer delay to ablation referral.
• Despite fewer epicardial ablations in females, VT noninducibility, complication rates, VT freedom, and overall mortality were similar between genders.

Conclusions:

• Female patients with SHD undergoing VT ablation present with a more arrhythmogenic substrate and suboptimal medical management.
• Despite these differences, acute and long-term procedural outcomes are comparable between genders.
• Advanced NYHA class predicts poorer survival in female patients.