Research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association reports that men with pulmonary hypertension (PH) caused by chronic lung disease may be more susceptible to right ventricular (RV) dysfunction compared to women. The study suggests that male sex may be predictive of RV dysfunction in this population.
Compared with females, males had significantly lower RV fractional area change (RVFAC) (31% vs 26%, respectively) overall and also had lower RVFAC mean pulmonary arterial pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance values.
As pulmonary vascular resistance increased in males, +dP/dtmax/instantaneous pressure decreased, a relationship not observed in females. Additionally, males with RVFAC <28% had a significantly increased risk for heart failure hospitalization or death compared with females.
