Sex differences in ventricular arrhythmia: Epidemiology, pathophysiology and catheter ablation

Abstract

Evidence on sex differences in the pathophysiology and interventional treatment of ventricular arrhythmia in ischemic (ICM) or nonischemic cardiomyopathies (NICM) is limited. However, women have different etiologies and types of structural heart disease due to sex differences in genetics, proteomics and sex hormones. These differences may influence ventricular electrophysiological parameters and may require different treatment strategies. Considering that women were consistently under-represented in all randomized-controlled trials on VT ablation, the applicability of the study results to female patients is not known. In this article, we review the current knowledge and gaps in evidence about sex differences in the epidemiology, pathophysiology and catheter ablation in patients with ventricular arrhythmias.