Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine -- in the largest study to date of female heart failure patients who underwent a specialized stress test called oxygen uptake or VO2 -- concluded that women tend to have lower maximum exercise VO2 levels than men, yet their survival is significantly better than men. The results suggest that instead of one standard cut-off level in VO2 test results for both men and women, perhaps there should be a lower cut-off level for women. This would allow physicians to avoid more advanced therapies in some female heart failure patients. The study results are published in the June 6th issue of the “Journal of the American College of Cardiology.”
