MRI shows heart ages differently in women than in men

The main pumping chamber of the heart ages differently in men and women, according to a new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study published online in the journal Radiology. Researchers said the findings may support different treatment approaches for men and women with heart disease.

The mass of the left ventricle – the chamber of the heart that pumps blood throughout the body – is a predictor of cardiovascular events. The ventricle walls may thicken from having to work harder to pump blood in the presence of high blood pressure or other conditions.

Studies have shown both increases and decreases in left ventricular mass with age. Many of these studies have been cross-sectional, or focused on one point in time, and based on comparisons between the young and old, which doesn't account for different lifestyles and other historical factors. But for the new study, researchers were able to assess long-term changes in the same people by acquiring a baseline cardiac MRI and then comparing it with another taken at a later date.