Grant: Project Grant

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating condition that causes significant changes to the cardiovascular system. Our group has recently identified that SCI leads to reductions in heart size, and reduced ejection and filling. Remarkably, of the data available, only 5% represented females with SCI. In Canada, females represent over 25% of the SCI population, thus females are majorly underrepresented in SCI research to date. Heart disease is a leading cause of death for individuals with SCI yet no work to date has examined whether differences exist in the heart's structure and function in males and females with SCI. We believe that such differences could play a major role in determining differential heart disease risk profiles between males and females with SCI. If we find sex-differences in heart function and/or heart disease risk then these findings are expected to influence treatment options. This research aims to 1) determine if sex-differences exist in cardiac structure and function at rest and in response to moving from a supine to upright position, and 2) investigate sex differences in heart disease risk and acute heart events (i.e., heart attack) in SCI, by analyzing data from existing large health survey databases. This research is important because heart disease is the leading cause of death for individuals with SCI yet no efforts have sought to determine either the sex-specific differences in heart disease risk after SCI, or whether the excess risks of heart disease in SCI are comparable between males and females. Our preliminary analysis of one of the databases found that the odds for heart disease are more than 2-fold higher in males vs. females with SCI. By examining the impacts of sex on cardiac function and heart risk in SCI, this work will help us determine potential sex-based differences in treatment options/targets in SCI and may improve our ability to appropriately manage males and females with SCI.