Gender difference in diastolic function in hypertension (the HyperGEN study)

Although several studies indicate that there are gender differences in left ventricular (LV) systolic function, it remains unclear whether similar differences exist with regard to diastolic function. Accordingly, Doppler echocardiograms were analyzed in 515 male and 839 female, mostly treated (95%) hypertensive participants enrolled in the Hypertension Genetic Epidemiology Network (HyperGEN) study with no evidence of abnormal wall motion or significant valvular heart disease. There was no difference in age between genders, but after adjusting for age and race, men had lower body mass indexes (29.8 ± 5.2 vs 32.3 ± 7.6 kg/m 2) and heart rates (67 ± 12 vs 69 ± 11 beats/min) and higher systolic and diastolic blood pressures (BP) than women (134 ± 20 vs 130 ± 21 and 80 ± 11 vs 72 ± 11 mm Hg, all p