Men's hearts different from women's, scientists recommend gender specific treatments

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Not all hearts are created equal. And after analyzing MRI scans of close to 3,000 adults, researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered that male and female hearts also differ in the way they age. 

The heart's left ventricle, which pumps blood throughout the body, generally gets smaller over time. The study reveals, however, that the muscles surrounding the left ventricle grow bigger and thicker as men grow older and retain their size or shrink in women.

While further studies need to be conducted to determine the reasons behind these observed differences, the doctors have recommend that gender specific treatments be developed to address male and female heart conditions accordingly.

To treat heart failure, cardiologists would normally recommend medicines designed to reduce the size of the heart muscles. With these new findings, women may not benefit from traditionally prescribed medications as much as men do.

For this study, researchers analyzed MRI scans of close to 3,000 adults within the 54 to 94 age range who had no pre-existing heart conditions. Participants were closely monitored for a decade, from 2002 to 2012, at six hospitals across the United States. Considered more reliable than ultrasound images, MRI scans provided 3D images of each heart's interior and exterior regions, allowing researchers to observe and measure the size, volume, and density of heart muscles.

The study revealed that over the years, the weight of the left ventricle increased by an average of 8 grams in men, and was reduced by an average of 1.6 grams in women. While its capacity to hold blood in between heartbeats was lower in both sexes, the reduction was bigger in women at 13 ml, compared to less than 10 ml in men.

The differences in the heart's size, volume, and pumping ability were measured without taking into account other risk factors such as weight, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, physical activity, and smoking, all of which are known to increase the probability of heart disease.

Heart failure is a major health concern all over the world. In the United States alone, more than five million individuals suffer from this condition.

The Johns Hopkins initiative is part of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), a long-term project that monitors the heart health of close to 7,000 men and women from different racial backgrounds across the country. The study aims to determine which individuals are more likely to develop heart diseases and die from them, and what factors lead to these conditions.