Cardiac MRI Research Study Shows Men’s Hearts Age Differently from Those of Women

Researchers have released the results of a large multiethnic observational study involving 2,935 participants, and focused on cardiovascular disease.

None of the participants had clinical cardiovascular disease at the beginning of the study. The ages of the participants were between 54 and 94 years at follow-up, and the median time between the baseline, and follow-up cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) exam was 9.4 years.

The study was published in the journal Radiology. John Eng, MD, from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (Baltimore, MD, USA) and other researchers who conducted the study found that left ventricular volume decreased in both women and men. In men left ventricular mass increased and in women it decreased slightly. The mass of the left ventricle is a predictor of cardiovascular events, and may increase in thickness to compensate for conditions such as high blood pressure. The study also showed the advantages of using cardiac MRI for measuring left ventricular mass, compared to other imaging modalities.

The study assessed long-term changes in the participants, while previous studies have been cross-sectional, or focused on one point in time, comparing different age groups. The results of the study seem to confirm the significance of blood pressure and diet in cardiac health. There was an inverse association between ventricular mass and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and hypertension that was treated. According to the results of the study increased ventricular mass however was related to higher blood pressure, and body mass index. The results of the study may indicate a need for different treatment approaches for women and men.

John Eng, said, "We had the opportunity to reexamine the same people after 10 years so that we could see what happened to their hearts after a decade. This is a more reliable way to assess left ventricular changes over time. The shape of the heart changes over time in both men and women, but the patterns of change are different. Men's hearts tend to get heavier and the amount of blood they hold is less, while women's hearts don't get heavier. We've been talking a lot lately about personalized medicine, and here's an example where perhaps men and women might have to be treated differently. Most heart imaging is done by echocardiography, but the measurements require a few assumptions and may not be as precise as you would like. MRI gives you clearer pictures of the heart, allowing more precise computerized measurements."

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Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine