Sex-specific cardiac ageing: A translational study
A new study, led by Drs. Achi Haider and Susan Bengs, examined age-related changes in heart structure and function and found that while both women and men experience reductions in left ventricular (LV) volumes with age, these changes are more pronounced in women. Using cardiac MRI data from over 39,000 UK Biobank participants, alongside mouse models and human cardiac microtissues, the researchers showed that women exhibit greater declines in LV size but also stronger compensatory responses, such as increased heart rate and sympathetic activity, which help maintain cardiac output. Experimental models suggested that these sex differences are largely driven by age-related declines in female sex hormones, which have protective, anti-fibrotic, and anti-apoptotic effects on heart tissue, whereas testosterone levels remained relatively stable with age.
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Florian A Wenzl