Key result
Male patients with heart failure showed a significantly greater activation of the cardiac natriuretic hormone system compared to females, with BNP ratios to gender-specific cut-offs being 2.3-fold higher.
Why the study?
Does gender influence circulating levels of cardiac natriuretic hormones in patients with heart failure?
Cross-Sectional (n=239)
No
Does gender influence circulating levels of cardiac natriuretic hormones in patients with heart failure?
While there are gender-specific differences in natriuretic peptide activation in heart failure, age, ejection fraction, and disease severity are more powerful predictors of ANP and BNP levels than gender.
Gender differences in BNP activation may exist in HF; leaves open whether they improve diagnosis or prognosis beyond age, EF, and severity.
In order to study the influence of gender on circulating levels of cardiac natriuretic hormones (CNHs) in heart failure, we measured the plasma levels of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) by means of highly sensitive and specific IRMA methods in 239 consecutive patients (age 64.7 +/- 11.6 years, range 21-89 years; 170 men and 69 women) with cardiomyopathy. There was different response of CNH according to gender in patients with heart failure, as indicated by the ratio between the individual CNH values of patients and the gender-specific cut-off values. Indeed, the mean ratio for ANP found in men (3.6 +/- 3.6) was significantly higher (p = 0.0075) than that found in women (2.4 +/- 2.1). The mean ratio for BNP was on average 2.3 fold higher (15.9 +/- 27.1 in men and 6.9 +/- 6.8 in women, p = 0.0084). Moreover, age, ejection fraction, and disease severity independently and significantly contributed to regression with both ANP (R = 0.612, F = 39.969, p < 0.0001) and BNP (R = 0.656, F = 49.957, p < 0.0001) values, while gender did not. In conclusion, our study suggests a different, gender-specific activation of the CNH system in this clinical condition, although age, ejection fraction and disease severity seem to be more powerful predictors than gender of circulating levels of ANP and BNP in patients with heart failure.
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Emdin et al. (2003) conducted a cross-sectional in Heart failure (n=239). Male gender vs. Female gender was evaluated on Ratio of individual BNP values to gender-specific cut-off values (p=0.0084). Male patients with heart failure showed a significantly greater activation of the cardiac natriuretic hormone system compared to females, with BNP ratios to gender-specific cut-offs being 2.3-fold higher.
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