Gender Differences in Takotsubo Syndrome

BACKGROUND Male sex in takotsubo syndrome (TTS) has a low incidence and it is still not well characterized. OBJECTIVES The aim of the present study is to describe TTS sex differences. METHODS TTS patients enrolled in the international multicenter GEIST (GErman Italian Spanish Takotsubo) registry were analyzed. Comparisons between sexes were performed within the overall cohort and using an adjusted analysis with 1:1 propensity score matching for age, comorbidities, and kind of trigger. RESULTS In total, 286 (11%) of 2,492 TTS patients were men. Male patients were younger (age 69 +/- 13 years vs 71 +/- 11 years; P = 0.005), with higher prevalence of comorbid conditions (diabetes mellitus 25% vs 19%; P = 0.01; pulmonary diseases 21% vs 15%; P = 0.006; malignancies 25% vs 13%; P < 0.001) and physical trigger (55 vs 32% P < 0.01). Propensity-score matching yielded 207 patients from each group. After 1:1 propensity matching, male patients had higher rates of cardiogenic shock and in-hospital mortality (16% vs 6% and 8% vs 3%, respectively; both P < 0.05). Long-term mortality rate was 4.3% per patient-year (men 10%, women 3.8%). Survival analysis showed higher mortality rate in men during the acute phase in both cohorts (overall: P < 0.001; matched: P = 0.001); mortality rate after 60 days was higher in men in the overall (P = 0.002) but not in the matched cohort (P = 0.541). Within the overall population, male sex remained independently associated with both in-hospital (OR: 2.26; 95% CI: 1.16-4.40) and long-term mortality (HR: 1.83; 95% CI: 1.32-2.52). CONCLUSIONS Male TTS is featured by a distinct high-risk phenotype requiring close in-hospital monitoring and longterm follow-up. (C) 2022 by the American College of Cardiology Foundation.

Automated summary

Male takotsubo syndrome (TTS) is characterized by a distinct high-risk phenotype requiring close monitoring and long-term follow-up.