Abstract 14489: Non-ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction in a Transgender Woman: A Case Report and Perspective Into an Emerging High-Risk Population

Circulation, Volume 146, Issue Suppl_1, Page A14489-A14489, November 8, 2022. Clinical Case:A 37-year-old transgender (TG) woman off gender-affirming hormonal therapy (GAHT) presented with substernal chest pain radiating to the left arm, worse with exertion and relieved with res. She was hypertensive and tachycardic on admission. Initial bloodwork revealed an elevated troponin I of 0.57 ng/mL, which peaked at 1.48 ng/mL. EKG on admission showed hyperacute T waves in the anterior leads without ST elevation (see Figure 1). She was diagnosed with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and taken for left heart catheterization (LHC).Decision-Making:TTE showed preserved LVEF and basal inferior, basal inferolateral, basal anterolateral and mid-anterolateral hypokinesis. LHC showed proximal-to-mid right coronary artery (RCA) occlusion. After failed aspiration thrombectomy indicating calcified plaque, two overlapping drug-eluting stents (DES) were successfully deployed with restoration of flow. She was discharged home on aspirin, ticagrelor, atorvastatin, and carvedilol.Discussion:Despite a recent push to increase awareness, research and healthcare equality specific to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) patients, a significant gap persists. Specifically, stress, inflammation, dyslipidemia, and thromboembolism predispose this understudied population to increased coronary artery disease (CAD) and myocardial infarction (MI). Accordingly, greater effort needs to be taken to mitigate preventable cardiac morbidity and mortality in this patient population.Conclusion:CAD in LGBTQ+ adults is well studied. However, there are few published studies on CAD specifically among TG men and women. National cross-sectional data highlights this disproportionate risk of CAD and MI among TG men and women relative to their cisgender female and male peers, a healthcare disparity recently emphasized by the AHA. Consequently, care must be taken to eliminate these aforementioned inequalities.

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Ottobre 2022

Abstract 12808: Genetic Heart Disease and Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy in Transgender Individuals: Potential Pro-Arrhythmic Considerations

Circulation, Volume 146, Issue Suppl_1, Page A12808-A12808, November 8, 2022. Background:Sex hormones influence the arrhythmogenic risk for various genetic heart diseases (GHDs) including long QT syndrome (LQTS), Brugada syndrome (BrS), catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT), and idiopathic ventricular fibrillation (IVF). Although exogenous hormones are used frequently in transgender medicine for gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT), the effect of such treatments on sudden cardiac death (SCD) risk in transgender patients with a GHD is unknown.Objective:To describe the prevalence and spectrum of transgender patients with GHD and to evaluate the impact of GAHT on the treatment and outcomes of their underlying GHD.Methods:We performed a retrospective review of all patients seen and evaluated in Mayo Clinic’s Windland Smith Rice Genetic Heart Rhythm Clinic from January 1999-2022 to identify transgender patients. Clinical notes were reviewed for sex, gender identity, GAHT, and details of their GHD, therapy, and outcomes.Results:Among 1990 patients with a GHD, we found 7 patients (0.35%) who self-identify as a gender different from their chromosomal sex (transgender). Specifically, there were 4 patients who identified as transgender women (XY males at birth) and 3 as transgender men (XX females at birth). Five of seven patients (71%) have used forms of GAHT, with 2 patients on estradiol and 3 patients on testosterone. GHDs identified include LQT1 (2 transgender women), LQT3 (1 transgender man), LQT3/BrS overlap syndrome (1 transgender woman), genotype negative LQTS (1 transgender man), CPVT (1 transgender woman), and IVF (1 transgender man). Guideline-directed GHD therapy was optimized, not altered nor escalated, for all patients and no patients were advised against initiating GAHT due to perceived interactions. One of seven patients (transgender man with IVF) experienced a breakthrough cardiac event (BCE) while on GAHT, while the other 6 patients have had no BCEs.Conclusion:Although less than 0.5% of patients seen over 20+ years self-identified as transgender, their holistic care must include a careful discussion of the possible cardiac risks associated with GAHT. Additional studies are needed to determine the potential pro-arrhythmic risk of GAHT.

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Ottobre 2022

Abstract 15355: Evaluating the Electrocardiographic Characteristics of Transgender Patients Undergoing Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy With Artificial Intelligence

Circulation, Volume 146, Issue Suppl_1, Page A15355-A15355, November 8, 2022. Evaluating the Electrocardiographic Characteristics of Transgender Patients Undergoing Gender-affirming Hormone Therapy with Artificial IntelligenceIntroduction:An artificial intelligence (AI) electrocardiogram (ECG) algorithm has been demonstrated to identify a patient’s birth designated sex with 90.4% accuracy with an AUC = 0.97. However, the algorithm has not been evaluated in transgender and gender diverse individuals. We aimed to determine how the algorithm output varies among transgender individuals seen at the Mayo Clinic Transgender and Intersex Specialty Care Clinic (TISCC) who are undergoing gender-affirming hormonal treatment (GAHT).Methods:We applied the algorithm (which assessed the probability of “male” between 0 and 1, with < 0.5 considered as “female” and > 0.5 as “male”) to ECGs obtained from patients in the TISCC before and after the initiation of GAHT. GAHT frequently involves the use of testosterone in transgender men, and estrogen and anti-androgen agents in transgender women. Patient characteristics, including the date of the initiation of GAHT, were collected through chart review.Results:Among transgender women, the AI model probability of “male” decreased from 0.84± 0.25 (12/86 classified as males) to 0.59±0.36 (68/173 classified as male) with GAHT (p < 7.8e-10). Among transgender men, the AI model probability of “male” increased from 0.16 ± 0.28 (7/47 classified as male) to 0.41 ±0.38 (22/53 classified as male) with GAHT (p < 2.4e-4).Conclusion:After GAHT initiation, the Mayo Clinic AI ECG algorithm assigns a higher probability of being male among transgender men and a lower probability of being male among transgender women. These findings warrant further investigation into the electrocardiographic differences across genders and the effects of GAHT on the human heart.

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Ottobre 2022

Abstract 14230: Comparing Stress Echocardiography Parameters of Transgender Women With Their Cisgender Counterparts: The Mayo Clinic Women’s Heart Clinic

Circulation, Volume 146, Issue Suppl_1, Page A14230-A14230, November 8, 2022. Introduction:Stress echocardiography (SE) is a common functional imaging modality used for the detection of symptomatic coronary artery disease (CAD). Currently, the interpretation of SE relies on sex-based comparators for reporting parameters, including exercise time and functional aerobic capacity. These parameters are based on the cisgender male and female populations but have not been studied among transgender (TG) patients. Thus, we sought to characterize the SE parameters among a group of TG women.Methods:We designed a case-control study of TG women who underwent a SE at the Mayo Clinic. Each TG patient was age-matched with 2 cis-males and 2 cis-females. Demographics, medical history, and SE data were extracted. Conditional logistic regression analysis was performed to compare the TG cohort with each cisgender cohort separately.Results:Among the 43 TG females (age 57.7±9 years, 94.9% white), the prevalence of CAD was less than in cis-males (p=0.013) but similar to cis-females. For SE parameters, TG females had higher resting heart rates than cis-males (median [Q1, Q3]: 80 [71,93] vs 70 [64, 77]; p=0.002). Double product (24816 [21156, 27864] vs 26864 [22444, 30660]; p=0.016), exercise time (7.3 minutes [6,9] vs 8.5 [7.2, 9.5]; p=0.041), and metabolic equivalents (8.2 [7, 10] vs 9.5 [8.2, 10.5]; p=0.018), were all lower in TG females than cis-males. Exercise ejection fraction was higher in the transgender cohort than in cis-females (70 [70, 75] vs 70 [65, 70]; p=0.007). There was no difference in functional aerobic capacity or in the rest or stress wall motion score indices among the groups. Finally, there was no difference in the prevalence of positive electrocardiogram or SE studies.Conclusion:In conclusion, we report for the first time SE profiles for TG females which display an overall distinct phenotype compared to cis-males and cis-females. Larger prospective studies are warranted to further define these parameters for the TG population.

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Ottobre 2022