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Sex, lean body mass, and cardiac performance
Ambarish Pandey1, Kershaw V Patel2
1Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA.
Science Translational Medicine
|October 19, 2022
Summary
Lower lean body mass in women, but not men, is linked to reduced cardiovascular function during rest and exercise. This may explain sex differences in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Physiology
- Exercise Physiology
- Heart Failure Pathophysiology
Background:
- Sex differences exist in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).
- Lean body mass (LBM) influences cardiovascular function.
- Understanding factors contributing to HFpEF sex disparities is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between LBM and cardiovascular reserve at rest and during exercise.
- To determine if this association differs between men and women.
- To explore potential mechanisms for sex differences in HFpEF.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study design.
- Assessment of LBM using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA).
- Measurement of cardiovascular reserve via rest and peak exercise hemodynamics.
Main Results:
- Lower LBM was significantly associated with reduced resting and peak exercise cardiovascular reserve in women.
- This association was not observed in men.
- Women with lower LBM exhibited impaired chronotropic and inotropic responses to exercise.
Conclusions:
- Reduced LBM may contribute to diminished cardiovascular reserve in women.
- This finding offers a potential explanation for the higher prevalence of HFpEF in women.
- Targeting LBM may be a future therapeutic strategy for HFpEF in women.
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