Percutaneous Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases in Women

This book describes a wide range of interventional procedures currently employedin the treatment of cardiac diseases in women with the aim of enabling not only interventional cardiologists but also cardiologists and cardiac surgeons to refine their approach to female patients and thus improve outcomes. The book reflectsthe increasing awareness of gender differences with regard tocoronary artery disease and structural valve heart disease. Examples include myocardial infarction, which carries a worse prognosis in women in part because they sufferfromthis disease mostly in the 7thdecade of life, present more frequently with hemodynamic instability and later from symptom onset,and have fragile, small and tortuous coronary arteriesthat are more technically demanding in the context ofprimary percutaneous coronary intervention. Another example is symptomatic aortic stenosis, which carries a better prognosis in women who undergo trans-catheter aortic valve implantation partially due to a better annulus-prosthesis match, which leadsto less residual paravalvular regurgitation, better left ventricular function and lower aggregation of comorbidities.Further, in womenleft ventricular response to aortic stenosis is typified by muscle hypertrophy with a small ventricular cavity. These differences are reflected in the clinical manifestations andtheirimpact on diagnosis, treatment, and choice of tools and devices for use in interventional procedures.Byexplaining theat timessubtle variancesin disease and treatment techniques forfemale and male patients, this bookwill help practitioners selectthe most appropriate procedures and materials in arange of settings.