查看文章

Previous studies found that global longitudinal strain is a superior predictor of mortality in male patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (EF). This does not apply to women. Our aim was to investigate sex-specific differences in cardiac function and identify echocardiographic predictors of mortality in women with heart failure with reduced EF.

Echocardiographic examinations were retrieved from 968 patients with heart failure with reduced EF (26.7% women). Images were analyzed offline, and the end point was all-cause mortality. During follow-up (median: 41 months) 163 patients (16.8 %) died. Women had significantly higher left ventricular (LV) EF (27.1% versus 25.4%, P=0.004), global longitudinal strain (−9.9% versus −8.9%, P<0.001), and global circumferential strain (−10.9% versus −9.7%, P<0.001). Moreover, women displayed higher E/e′ (14.4 versus 13.0 …