Latest from the WISE: Contributions to the Understanding of Ischemia and Heart Failure among Women with No Obstructive Coronary Arteries

Abstract

Since 1996, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute-sponsored Women’s Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation (WISE) has been investigating pathophysiological processes underlying ischemic heart disease in women and related outcomes. Recent findings have focused on women with signs and symptoms of ischemia and no obstructive coronary arteries (INOCA) and their elevated risk for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). This review summarizes the latest WISE findings related to INOCA and pre-HFpEF characteristics, addressing our understanding of contributions from traditional vs nontraditional risk factors in women.

Keywords

• coronary microvascular dysfunction
• women
• ischemic heart disease
• heart failure with preserved ejection fraction
• cardiac magnetic resonance