Marta Cerruti, an Associate Professor at the University of Saskatchewan and her team analyzed damaged heart valves from patients who had undergone transplants. Their findings, show considerable differences in the mineral deposits found in aortic valves of men and women who suffer from stenosis, a life-threatening heart condition caused by a narrowing of the aortic valve opening. "What we showed, which was a surprise to us, is that the type of minerals in the heart valves is different between the sexes," said Cerruti. "We unexpectedly found that the minerals are different in composition and shape, and that they grow slower in women. "Mineral composition analysis also determined that a type of mineral deposit was found almost exclusively in samples from female patients. Heart disease remains the global leading cause of death in both men and women. With 280,000 heart valves being replaced every year in Canada due to stenosis, Cerruti says her work demonstrates the need to develop different diagnostic and therapeutic approaches when treating aortic stenosis in men or women. The results of the research were published in “Acta Biomaterialia”.

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