protecThe effects of menstrual cycle on cardiac conduction system

Women’s cardiac conduction system shows some physiological differences compared to men’s. Resting heart rate is higher and QT and corrected QT (QTc) intervals are longer in women. Additionally, female gender is an independent risk factor for drug-related torsades de pointes and congenital long QT syndrome (1). Sudden cardiac death incidence is higher in women when excluding coronary artery disease and structural heart diseases (2). QT interval defines the duration from the beginning of the QRS complex until the end of the T wave and refers to the period of ventricular myocardium activation and repolarization. It may vary according to age, gender, pregnancy condition and the heart rate (3).