Female preponderance in atrioventricular node reentrant tachycardia, but no sex related electrophysiological differences

Lennart Bergfeldt, Claes Williamsson, Jonas Schwieler
2015 International Cardiovascular Forum Journal  
The mechanism behind the female preponderance for atrio-ventricular node reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT) is not clear.<br />We compared baseline electrophysiological measurements and clinical data in 141 consecutive patients (96 women) who<br />underwent successful AVNRT ablation at their fi rst therapeutic procedure. Women had on average 9% higher resting<br />heart rate than men (p&lt;0.05), but were similar in all measures of AV node function. Isoproterenol infusion was required<br />for AVNRT
more » ... induction in 69 cases (49%), and the need for isoproterenol was associated with lower resting heart rate and<br />longer anterograde and retrograde AV node refractory periods (p&lt;0.05 for comparisons), but not with sex. We conclude<br />that the spectrum of baseline AV node physiology in AVNRT patients is wide, and is similar in men and women. The female<br />preponderance for AVNRT cannot be explained from comparisons of baseline AV node electrophysiological properties.
doi:10.17987/icfj.v1i4.47 fatcat:6boxu2ob35f3ndj6kraj5fzl5i