Men are 64 per cent more likely to die from a common heart condition than women, new research suggests.
Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) causes fewer fatalities in females despite it increasing their risk of heart failure by 10 per cent more than men, as well as making them more vulnerable to symptoms such as fatigue, a UK study found.
The condition causes heart muscles to become stretched and thin, which makes the organ unable to pump blood around the body efficiently.
Female hormones may prevent DCM from scarring heart tissue and reducing the organ’s ability to pump blood, according to the researchers.
The scientists hope the findings could pave the way for new treatments.
DCM, which contributed to the singer George Michael’s death on Christmas Day 2016, affects around one in 2,500 people in the UK and causes more than 10,000 deaths in the US a year.
Men are 64 per cent more likely to die from a common heart condition than women (stock)
Dilated cardiomyopathy contributed to George Michael’s death on Christmas Day 2016
‘DCM devastates families’
The researchers, from Imperial College London, analysed 591 men and 290 women with DCM over around five years.
They are planning to investigate whether female hormones have a protective role in DCM and if this could help protect at-risk people, such as those with a family history of the condition.
Study author Dr Sanjay Prasad said: ‘Our research shows that men with DCM are at greater risk of death, compared to women.
‘This insight should encourage doctors to manage male DCM patients more intensively, and better stratify those who should and shouldn’t have more extensive treatment.
‘Now, we want to explore what factors could be protecting the hearts of women.
‘We will harness this knowledge and work towards developing new treatments for people with DCM.
‘I meet people with DCM every day and I’ve seen it devastate families. We have so much more to do.’
‘All too often DCM progresses to heart failure’
Professor Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, which funded the study, added: ‘All too often DCM progresses to heart failure – a chronic condition that takes the lives of thousands of people every year in the UK.
‘To protect families from heartbreak, it is vital that we better understand conditions like DCM and identify those who are risk of developing heart failure or dying.
‘Research like this helps give us clues about why some people’s hearts may be better protected than others.
‘We need to improve the public’s awareness of serious heart conditions like DCM and continue to strive for innovate treatments that protect hearts from damage. These diseases are real, they are life-threatening and they need to be tackled.’