engleski

Cardiovascular health and gender differences in microvascular reactivity in young healthy adults: are men from Mars and women from Venus?

Objective: It is more and more recognized that there are differences in some features of the clinical presentations of cardio- and cerebro- vascular diseases in women (e.g. stroke), compared to men which may be related to microvascular reactivity (MR) and endothelial function. For example, in women presenting for evaluation of suspected ischemic cardiac symptoms, a diagnosis of normal coronary arteries is 5 times more common than it is in men and subset of them have microvascular angina caused by microvascular coronary dysfunction. In addition, there are epidemiological evidences in higher cardiovascular mortality of women than in men which may be attributed to either various co- morbidities or potential sex and hormonal differences between women and men. However, controlled, investigational studies are scarce and results are inconclusive. The aim of this presentation is to discuss the relevance of microvascular reactivity in healthy young individuals, as possible prospective determinant of future cardiovascular health in relation to gender, based on own experimental studies on microvascular blood flow in men and women. Design and method: A Medline search containing keywords: microvascular reactivity, gender, women, cardiovascular morbidity, healthy was assessed, together with analysis of own data from experimental study on microvascular reactivity to reactivev hyperaemia by LDF in healthy young people of both sexes. Results: Existing published data in healthy subjects demonstrated increased arterial vasoconstrictor responses and arterial stiffness markers in male, compared to female subjects in adolescents, and negative correlation of male sex with arterial endothelial function in middle-age men. However, the results of Medline search show a paucity of data related to differences in flow- dependant microvascular reactivity in young healthy adults. Our pilot results show increased microvascular reactivity in young healthy women, compared to men. Conclusions and Significance: Having in mind important differences in clinical presentation of cardiovascular diseases in women compared in men it is necessary to study more thoroughly sex-differences in microvascular reactivity (MR), since MR is crucial in etiopathogenesis of these diseases.

cardiovascular health ; microvascular reactivity ; gender differences

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