Gender Differences in Diagnosis, Prevention, and Treatment of Cardiotoxicity in Cardio-Oncology.

Gender differences exist throughout the medical field and significant progress has been made in understanding the effects of gender in many aspects of healthcare. The field of cardio-oncology is diverse and dynamic with new oncologic and cardiovascular therapies approved each year; however, there is limited knowledge regarding the effects of gender within cardio-oncology, particularly the impact of gender on cardiotoxicities. The relationship between gender and cardio-oncology is unique in that gender likely affects not only the biological underpinnings of cancer susceptibility, but also the response to both oncologic and cardiovascular therapies. Furthermore, gender has significant socioeconomic and psychosocial implications which may impact cancer and cardiovascular risk factor profiles, cancer susceptibility, and the delivery of healthcare. In this review, we summarize the effects of gender on susceptibility of cancer, response to cardiovascular and cancer therapies, delivery of healthcare, and highlight the need for further gender specific studies regarding the cardiovascular effects of current and future oncological treatments.

Physical Activity, Subclinical Myocardial Injury, and Risk of Heart Failure Subtypes in Black Adults.

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to evaluate the independent associations and interactions between high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) and physical activity (PA) with risk of heart failure (HF) subtypes, HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). BACKGROUND: Black adults are at high risk for developing HF. Physical inactivity and subclinical myocardial injury, as assessed by hs-cTnI concentration, are independent risk factors for HF. METHODS: Black adults from the Jackson Heart Study without prevalent HF who had hs-cTnI concentration and self-reported PA assessed at baseline were included. Adjusted Cox models were used to evaluate the independent and joint associations and interaction between hs-cTnI concentrations and PA with risk of HFpEF and HFrEF. RESULTS: Among 3,959 participants, 25.1% had subclinical myocardial injury (hs-cTnI ≥4 and ≥6 ng/l in women and men, respectively), and 48.2% were inactive (moderate-to-vigorous PA = 0 min/week). Over 12.0 years of follow-up, 163 and 150 participants had an incident HFpEF and HFrEF event, respectively. In adjusted analysis, higher hs-cTnI concentration (per 1-U log increase) was associated with higher risk of HFpEF (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.47; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.25 to 1.72]) and HFrEF (HR: 1.57; 95% CI: 1.35 to 1.83]). In contrast, higher PA (per 1-U log increase) was associated with a lower risk of HFpEF (HR: 0.93; 95% CI: 0.88 to 0.99]) but not HFrEF. There was a significant interaction between hs-cTnI and PA for risk of HFpEF (p interaction = 0.04) such that inactive participants with subclinical myocardial injury were at higher risk of HFpEF but active participants were not. CONCLUSIONS: Among Black adults with subclinical myocardial injury, higher levels of PA were associated with attenuated risk of HFpEF.

Thirty-Day Readmissions After Hospitalization for Hypertensive Emergency.

Hypertensive emergency is a clinical entity with potentially serious health implications and high healthcare utilization. There is a lack of nationally representative data on incidence, causes, and predictors of 30-day readmission after hospitalization for hypertensive emergency. We used the 2013 to 2014 Nationwide Readmissions Database to identify index hospitalizations for hypertensive emergency. Primary outcome was all-cause unplanned 30-day readmission. Multivariable hierarchical logistic regression was used to identify independent predictors of readmission. There were 166 531 index hospitalizations for hypertensive emergency representative of 355 627 (SE, 9401) hospitalizations nationwide in 2013 to 2014. Mean age was 66.0 (SE, 0.14) years, and 53.7% were women. The overall incidence of unplanned 30-day readmissions was 17.8%. The most common causes of readmission were heart failure (14.2%), hypertension with complications (10.2%), sepsis (5.9%), acute kidney injury (5.1%), and cerebrovascular accident (5.1%). Noncardiovascular causes accounted for 57.9% of readmissions. We found age <65 years (odds ratio, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.17-1.25; P<0.001), female sex (odds ratio, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.07-1.12; P<0.001), comorbid disease burden, substance use disorders, and socioeconomic risk factors to be significant predictors of readmission. One out of 6 patients hospitalized for hypertensive emergency had an unplanned 30-day readmission. Heart failure, uncontrolled hypertension, and stroke were among the most frequent causes of readmission; however, over half of all readmissions were because of noncardiovascular causes.

Association Between Regional Adipose Tissue Distribution and Risk of Heart Failure Among Blacks.

BACKGROUND: Obesity is highly prevalent among blacks and is associated with a greater risk of heart failure (HF). However, the contribution of regional adiposity depots such as visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue toward risk of HF in blacks is unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS: We included 2602 participants (mean age: 59 years, 35% men) from the Jackson Heart Study without prevalent HF who underwent computed tomography quantification of VAT and subcutaneous adipose tissue during the second visit (2005-2009). The associations between different adiposity measures and HF were evaluated using adjusted Cox models. There were 122 incident HF events over a median follow-up of 7.1 years. Higher amounts of VAT were associated with greater risk of HF in age- and sex-adjusted analyses (hazard ratio [95% CI] per 1-SD higher VAT: 1.29 [1.09-1.52]). This association was attenuated and not significant after additional adjustment for traditional HF risk factors and body mass index. Overall obesity, represented by body mass index, was associated with higher risk of HF independent of risk factors and VAT (hazard ratio [95% CI] per 1-kg/m2 higher body mass index: 1.06 [1.02-1.11]). Subcutaneous adipose tissue was not associated with risk of HF in adjusted analyses. CONCLUSIONS: In a community-dwelling black population, higher amounts of overall and visceral adiposity are associated with higher risk of HF. The association between VAT and HF risk in blacks may reflect differences in traditional HF risk factor burden. Future studies are needed to confirm this observation and clarify the independent role of different measures of adiposity on HF outcomes.