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Regitz-Zagrosek V, Gebhard C. Gender medicine: effects of sex and gender on cardiovascular disease manifestation and outcomes. Nat Rev Cardiol 2023; 20:236-247. [PMID: 36316574 PMCID: PMC9628527 DOI: 10.1038/s41569-022-00797-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 39.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Despite a growing body of evidence, the distinct contributions of biological sex and the sociocultural dimension of gender to the manifestations and outcomes of ischaemic heart disease and heart failure remain unknown. The intertwining of sex-based differences in genetic and hormonal mechanisms with the complex dimension of gender and its different components and determinants that result in different disease phenotypes in women and men needs to be elucidated. The relative contribution of purely biological factors, such as genes and hormones, to cardiovascular phenotypes and outcomes is not yet fully understood. Increasing awareness of the effects of gender has led to efforts to measure gender in retrospective and prospective clinical studies and the development of gender scores. However, the synergistic or opposing effects of sex and gender on cardiovascular traits and on ischaemic heart disease and heart failure mechanisms have not yet been systematically described. Furthermore, specific considerations of sex-related and gender-related factors in gender dysphoria or in heart-brain interactions and their association with cardiovascular disease are still lacking. In this Review, we summarize contemporary evidence on the distinct effects of sex and gender as well as of their interactions on cardiovascular disease and how they favourably or unfavourably influence the pathogenesis, clinical manifestations and treatment responses in patients with ischaemic heart disease or heart failure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vera Regitz-Zagrosek
- Institute for Gender in Medicine, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Catherine Gebhard
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Cardiology, Inselspital Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland
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Rossi A, Mikail N, Bengs S, Haider A, Treyer V, Buechel RR, Wegener S, Rauen K, Tawakol A, Bairey Merz CN, Regitz-Zagrosek V, Gebhard C. Heart-brain interactions in cardiac and brain diseases: why sex matters. Eur Heart J 2022; 43:3971-3980. [PMID: 35194633 PMCID: PMC9794190 DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehac061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2021] [Revised: 01/24/2022] [Accepted: 01/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Cardiovascular disease and brain disorders, such as depression and cognitive dysfunction, are highly prevalent conditions and are among the leading causes limiting patient's quality of life. A growing body of evidence has shown an intimate crosstalk between the heart and the brain, resulting from a complex network of several physiological and neurohumoral circuits. From a pathophysiological perspective, both organs share common risk factors, such as hypertension, diabetes, smoking or dyslipidaemia, and are similarly affected by systemic inflammation, atherosclerosis, and dysfunction of the neuroendocrine system. In addition, there is an increasing awareness that physiological interactions between the two organs play important roles in potentiating disease and that sex- and gender-related differences modify those interactions between the heart and the brain over the entire lifespan. The present review summarizes contemporary evidence of the effect of sex on heart-brain interactions and how these influence pathogenesis, clinical manifestation, and treatment responses of specific heart and brain diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexia Rossi
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland,Center for Molecular Cardiology, University of Zurich, Schlieren, Switzerland
| | - Nidaa Mikail
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland,Center for Molecular Cardiology, University of Zurich, Schlieren, Switzerland
| | - Susan Bengs
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland,Center for Molecular Cardiology, University of Zurich, Schlieren, Switzerland
| | - Ahmed Haider
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland,Center for Molecular Cardiology, University of Zurich, Schlieren, Switzerland,Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Valerie Treyer
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Ronny Ralf Buechel
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Susanne Wegener
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Zurich and University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Katrin Rauen
- Department of Geriatric Psychiatry, Psychiatric Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland,Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research, University Hospital, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Ahmed Tawakol
- Cardiovascular Imaging Research Center, Cardiology Division, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - C Noel Bairey Merz
- Barbra Streisand Women's Heart Center, Smidt Heart Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Vera Regitz-Zagrosek
- Charité, Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany,University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Susceptibility of Women to Cardiovascular Disease and the Prevention Potential of Mind-Body Intervention by Changes in Neural Circuits and Cardiovascular Physiology. Biomolecules 2021; 11:biom11050708. [PMID: 34068722 PMCID: PMC8151888 DOI: 10.3390/biom11050708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2021] [Revised: 04/25/2021] [Accepted: 05/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Women have been reported to be more vulnerable to the development, prognosis and mortality of cardiovascular diseases, yet the understanding of the underlying mechanisms and strategies to overcome them are still relatively undeveloped. Studies show that women's brains are more sensitive to factors affecting mental health such as depression and stress than men's brains. In women, poor mental health increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, and conversely, cardiovascular disease increases the incidence of mental illness such as depression. In connection with mental health and cardiovascular health, the presence of gender differences in brain activation, cortisol secretion, autonomic nervous system, vascular health and inflammatory response has been observed. This connection suggests that strategies to manage women's mental health can contribute to preventing cardiovascular disease. Mind-body interventions, such as meditation, yoga and qigong are forms of exercise that strive to actively manage both mind and body. They can provide beneficial effects on stress reduction and mental health. They are also seen as structurally and functionally changing the brain, as well as affecting cortisol secretion, blood pressure, heart rate variability, immune reactions and reducing menopausal symptoms, thus positively affecting women's cardiovascular health. In this review, we investigate the link between mental health, brain activation, HPA axis, autonomic nervous system, blood pressure and immune system associated with cardiovascular health in women and discuss the effects of mind-body intervention in modulating these factors.
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Gebhard C, Bengs S, Haider A, Fiechter M. The Neuro-Inflammatory-Vascular Circuit: Evidence for a Sex-Dependent Interrelation? Front Neurosci 2020; 14:614345. [PMID: 33362461 PMCID: PMC7756025 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.614345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2020] [Accepted: 11/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide with mortality rates in women currently exceeding those in men. To date, evidence is widely lacking for unique female determinants of CVD. However, strong associations with psychological stress, obesity or elevated inflammatory biomarkers with adverse cardiovascular outcomes in women have been identified in various studies. Interestingly, amygdalar metabolic activity, a central neural structure involved in emotional stress processing, has proven to be an independent predictor of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). Moreover, upregulated amygdalar metabolism was directly linked to myocardial injury in women, but not in men. This newly suggested sex-dependent brain-heart interrelation was further supported by the discovery that bone marrow activity, a surrogate parameter of inflammation, represents a potential bridging link between amygdalar activity and cardiovascular pathology by fueling inflammatory processes that promote atherosclerotic disease. Such malignant cascade of events might account, at least in part, for the excess female mortality seen in women with coronary artery disease and calls for sex-specific research toward pharmacologic or behavioral modulators to improve cardiovascular outcomes, particularly in women. This mini review summarizes recent advances in cardiovascular sex-specific medicine, thereby focusing on the interplay between the limbic system, autonomic regulation and inflammatory biomarkers, which may help to tailor CVD management toward the female cardiovascular phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine Gebhard
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Center for Molecular Cardiology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Susan Bengs
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Center for Molecular Cardiology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Ahmed Haider
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Center for Molecular Cardiology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Michael Fiechter
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Center for Molecular Cardiology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Swiss Paraplegic Center, Nottwil, Switzerland
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Fiechter M, Haider A, Bengs S, Marędziak M, Burger IA, Roggo A, Portmann A, Schade K, Warnock GI, Treyer V, Messerli M, Fuchs TA, Pazhenkottil AP, Buechel RR, Kaufmann PA, Gebhard C. Sex-dependent association between inflammation, neural stress responses, and impaired myocardial function. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 2019; 47:2010-2015. [PMID: 31701187 DOI: 10.1007/s00259-019-04537-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2019] [Accepted: 09/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Evidence to date has failed to reveal unique female determinants of cardiovascular disease. However, a strong association was recently observed between increased metabolic activity in the amygdala, a neural centre involved in the processing of emotions, and impaired myocardial function in women, but not in men. Given the stronger immune responses in females, we sought to retrospectively investigate the interaction between inflammation, perceived stress, and myocardial injury. METHODS Overall, 294 patients (mean age 66.9 ± 10.0 years, 28.6% women) underwent both, 99mTc-tetrofosmin single-photon emission computed tomography myocardial perfusion imaging and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography for the assessment of cardiac function, bone marrow metabolism (surrogate marker of inflammation), and resting amygdalar activity. RESULTS A positive association was found between amygdalar metabolism and 18F-FDG bone marrow uptake in women (r = 0.238, p = 0.029), but not in men (r = 0.060, p = 0.385). Linear regression models selected both, abnormal left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and abnormal myocardial perfusion, as significant indicators of an increased amygdalar activity in women (B-coefficient LVEF, - 0.096; p = 0.021; abnormal myocardial perfusion, 3.227; p = 0.043), but not in men (bone marrow p = 0.076; abnormal myocardial perfusion p = 0.420). Accordingly, an interaction term consisting of sex and LVEF/abnormal myocardial perfusion was significant (p = 0.043 and p = 0.015, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Upregulated amygdalar metabolism is associated with an enhanced inflammatory state in female patients with impaired cardiac function. Given that enhanced activity of the limbic system is associated with worse cardiovascular outcomes, our study suggests that a focus on inflammatory markers and indicators of distress might help to tailor cardiovascular risk assessment and therapy towards the female cardiovascular phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Fiechter
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland. .,Center for Molecular Cardiology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. .,Swiss Paraplegic Center, Nottwil, Switzerland.
| | - Ahmed Haider
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland.,Center for Molecular Cardiology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Susan Bengs
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland.,Center for Molecular Cardiology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Monika Marędziak
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland.,Center for Molecular Cardiology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Irene A Burger
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Roggo
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Angela Portmann
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland.,Center for Molecular Cardiology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Katharina Schade
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Geoffrey I Warnock
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland.,Center for Molecular Cardiology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Valerie Treyer
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Michael Messerli
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Tobias A Fuchs
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Aju P Pazhenkottil
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Ronny R Buechel
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Philipp A Kaufmann
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Catherine Gebhard
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland.,Center for Molecular Cardiology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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