Results:

Women comprised 21.8% of the cohort and tended to be older than men; 36.7% of women were >70 years compared to 28.1% of men. Aside from hypertension (70.6% women vs. 65.5% men) and clinically significant valvular disease (5.3% vs. 4.6%), women were less likely to have a history of major CV comorbid conditions such as atrial fibrillation (32.6% vs. 36.4%), previous myocardial infarction (30.0% vs. 45.4%), and stroke (7.4% vs 8.0%). Women had a lower prevalence of coronary artery disease (43% vs. 56%), reported moderate to extreme depression or anxiety more often than men (44% vs. 29%), had been hospitalized for HF less often than men (58.1% vs. 62.3%), and were less likely to have an ischemic etiology (50.0% vs. 60.5%). Women reported mores signs/symptoms of HF than men and had significantly worse quality of life (QOL) (lower Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire scores) and greater functional impairment than men. Baseline use of beta-blockers, diuretics, and MRAs was similar between men and women, while women had greater use of digitalis and ARBs and less use of ACE inhibitors. Anticoagulation was used less often in women, and women were less likely to have received a device than men: implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (8.6% vs. 16.6%) and cardiac resynchronization therapy (4.1% vs. 6.9%). Women were also less likely to be referred to a disease management program or to be prescribed exercise. Women had significantly lower mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 0.68; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.62-0.74; p < 0.001) and lower risk of HF hospitalization (HR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.72-0.89; p < 0.001), but higher rates of stroke.