Gender-Specific Aspects Among Heart Failure Patients - Are There Differences With Respect to Diagnostic and Therapeutic Management?

There is growing interest in gender-specific as-pects of cardiovascular manifestations, but less data are available for patients with heart failure. The global prevalence is age-dependent. Main risk factors for the development of heart failure are hypertension and diabetes among women, but the probability for female patients to develop heart failure after myocardial infarction and after bypass surgery is also increased. What is really relevant is that the majority of studies analysing the effect of pharmacologic heart failure therapy were performed mainly among male patients. Analyses with respect to gender differences show a much less pronounced beneficial effect of ACE inhibitors as well as beta-blocking agents for females, whereas the potentially deleterious effect of digitalis for women is proven.