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September 10, 2026ESC Heart FailureOpen Access

Sex differences in acute heart failure: Clinical presentation, imaging findings, and short-term recovery

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Why the study?

Sex differences in acute heart failure, particularly regarding multimodal imaging findings and short-term recovery, remain incompletely characterized.

Do clinical presentation, imaging findings, and short-term recovery differ between female and male adults hospitalized with acute heart failure?

Population

567 adults hospitalized with AHF

Comparison

Female vs male sex

Design

Prospective observational study

Follow-up

180 days

Key result

Females hospitalized with acute heart failure had higher LVEF (38% vs. 35%, p<0.001) than males, but there were no significant sex differences in 180-day mortality or heart failure readmission.

Authors

AKAyat KhoraizatFDFilip Soeskov DavidovskiCECaroline Espersen

Discussion

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Overview

Similar short-term recovery and 180-day outcomes despite distinct sex profiles in acute HF; hypothesis-generating for tailored assessment pending validation.

Key Points

  • To characterize sex-specific differences in clinical presentation, multimodal imaging parameters, short-term recovery, and 180-day clinical outcomes among patients hospitalized for acute heart failure.
  • Prospective observational study of 567 adults hospitalized with acute heart failure (mean age 78.2±11.6 years; 248 [43.7%] female).
  • Patients underwent clinical assessment, laboratory testing, transthoracic echocardiography, and lung ultrasound during the early in-hospital phase (median 2 days post-admission) and 1–3 months post-discharge.
  • The primary endpoint was a composite of all-cause mortality or heart failure readmission within 180 days.
  • At baseline, females had higher left ventricular ejection fraction (38% vs. 35%, p<0.001), higher absolute global longitudinal strain (10.5±4.7% vs. 9.7±4.4%, p=0.04), lower left ventricular mass index (113 vs. 136 g/m2, p<0.001), and higher relative wall thickness (0.51 vs. 0.47, p=0.002), whereas males had higher lung ultrasound B-line counts (5 [1–12] vs. 2 [0–9], p=0.003).
  • During follow-up at 1–3 months, changes in cardiac function, congestion metrics, and NT-proBNP levels were comparable between sexes.
  • No statistically significant sex differences were observed in the 180-day composite outcome of all-cause mortality or heart failure readmission.

Study Design

Type

Observational (n=567)

Structured PICO

Do clinical presentation, imaging findings, and short-term recovery differ between female and male adults hospitalized with acute heart failure?

P
Population
567 adults hospitalized with acute heart failure, followed for 180 days.
E
Exposure
Female sex
C
Comparator
Male sex
O
Outcome
Composite of all-cause mortality or heart failure readmission within 180 dayscomposite

Females and males hospitalized with acute heart failure have distinct clinical and imaging profiles at presentation, but similar short-term recovery and 180-day clinical outcomes.

Cite This Study

Khoraizat et al. (2026) conducted an observational in Acute heart failure (n=567). Female sex vs. Male sex was evaluated on Composite of all-cause mortality or heart failure readmission within 180 days. Females hospitalized with acute heart failure had higher LVEF (38% vs. 35%, p<0.001) than males, but there were no significant sex differences in 180-day mortality or heart failure readmission.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6aa27c3058559d80afc75ee7https://doi.org/10.1093/eschf/xvag235
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