Endogenous androgens, coronary atheroma and remodeling in women with suspected ischemic heart disease: A report from the Women's Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation (WISE) study

Background Women have smaller coronary size than men independent of body surface area. Female to male heart transplantation demonstrates coronary lumen enlargement. Purpose To investigate relationships between endogenous androgens and coronary luminal size in women with suspected ischemic heart disease (IHD). Methods We analyzed 69 women with available androgen levels. Results Group mean age was 54 ± 10 years with 64 % post-menopausal. Lumen cross-sectional area (CSA) and external elastic membrane (EEM) CSA positively correlated with free testosterone (FT) (r = 0.29, p = 0.049; r = 0.29, p = 0.01), respectively, and negatively correlated with SHBG (r = −0.26, p = 0.03; r = −0.29, p = 0.02), respectively. Atheroma CSA positively correlated with FT (r = 0.24. p = 0.05). These correlations became non-significant after adjusting for waist circumference. Conclusions In women with suspected ischemic heart disease, endogenous androgens, coronary atheroma and luminal size are related, and may be moderated by waist circumference.