After getting a new kidney, women’s hearts show more improvement in a specific heart measurement than men’s, even though women started with a larger heart size — suggesting their hearts recover differently based on sex.

Women with kidney disease who are getting a new kidney tend to have bigger and less flexible heart chambers before the surgery than men, which might mean their hearts have been working harder for longer.

When adults with severe kidney disease get a new kidney, their heart often gets healthier—especially the thickened walls and enlarged chamber—but men and women don’t improve in exactly the same way or to the same degree.

After a kidney transplant, men’s hearts tend to shrink back to a healthier size more than women’s hearts do over six months—even though men’s hearts were bigger to begin with—suggesting that men and women’s hearts respond differently to the transplant.