Year: 2016
Type: review
Abstract: Although sex-specific differences in cardiovascular medicine are well known, the exact influences of sex on the effect of cardiovascular drugs remain unclear. Women and men differ in body composition and physiology (hormonal influences during the menstrual cycle, menopause, and pregnancy) and they present differences in drug pharmacokinetics (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion) and pharmacodynamics, so that is not rare that they may respond differently to cardiovascular drugs. Furthermore, women are also less often treated with evidence-based drugs thereby preventing optimization of therapeutics for women of all ages, experience more relevant adverse drug reactions than men, and remain underrepresented in most clinical trials. Thus, current guidelines for prevention, diagnosis, and medical treatment for cardiovascular diseases are based on trials conducted predominantly in middle-aged men. A better understanding of these sex-related differences is fundamental to improve the safety and efficacy of cardiovascular drugs and for developing proper individualized cardiovascular therapeutic strategies both in men and women. This review briefly summarizes gender differences in the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of cardiovascular drugs and provides recommendations to close the gaps in our understanding of sex-specific differences in drug efficacy and safety.
Institutions: Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Centro de Investigación en Red en Enfermedades Cardiovasculares, St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, IRCCS San Raffaele Roma, University College Cork, Universidad de Granada, Medical University of Vienna, St George's, University of London, University of Ferrara, Vorarlberg Institute for Vascular Investigation and Treatment, Copenhagen University Hospital, Holbæk Sygehus, Aalborg University, Karolinska University Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Oslo University Hospital, University of Oslo, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Carmel Medical Center
Language: English
Topic: Sex and Gender in Healthcare
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2592398938