The Influence of Sex on Cardiac Physiology and Cardiovascular Diseases.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death world-wide. Most of treatment strategies were based on studies conducted on male patients. Studies have shown that significant differences exist between the two sexes in the development of CVD. There are certain differences between men and women in the structure and physiological functions of the heart such as left ventricular mass index, resting heart rate, and contractile function. Accordingly, the pathological features of the heart such as the extend of hypertrophy, fibrosis, and remodeling are also different. In addition, different genders also affect clinical symptoms, responses to treatment and prognosis in the development of CVD. Therefore, it is important to take these differences into consideration when design treatment options for men and women.