Gender differences in older patients with pressure-overload hypertrophy of the left ventricle

Left ventricular hypertrophy is an adaptive response to increased intraventricular pressure, and is consistently encountered in patients with hypertension or aortic stenosis. While it has long been appreciated that the extent of hypertrophy correlates positively with the level of pressure, the age of the individual, and with indices of body size, recent evidence suggests that left ventricular structure and function also varies with gender. Elderly women with aortic stenosis, in several recent studies, have been shown to develop more marked concentric hypertrophy, lower levels of wall stress, and higher indices of systolic function. Similarly, in recent studies of extreme hypertensive hypertrophy, there is a strong female preponderance. The explanation for these findings is not clear at present, though it is possible that men with extensive hypertrophy have succumbed to complications of vascular disease at an earlier age. The syndrome of extreme hypertrophy complicating hypertension and aortic stenosis, more commonly seen in women, requires a carefully tailored clinical approach.