Differences between males and females in blood pressure changes during their lifetimes

Česká verzia

Authors: Murín J. ¹; Bulas J. ¹; Wawruch M. ²; Gašpar Ľ. ^1,3
Authors place of work: I. interná klinika LF UK a UN Bratislava ¹; Ústav farmakológie a klinickej farmakológie, LF UK Bratislava ²; Inštitút fyzioterapie, balneológie a liečebnej rehabilitácie Piešťany, UCM Trnava ³
Published in the journal: Kardiol Rev Int Med 2020, 22(2): 72-74

Summary

In the last three decades, epidemiological data have showed us that women suffer from similar cardiovascular (CV) diseases as men, but that these diseases start later and their symptoms are more often atypical. In ischaemic heart disease and in heart failure (HF) women suffer more often from coronary microvascular dysfunction and from HF with normal ejection fraction in comparison with men. CV pathophysiology of disease development may therefore be different in each sex.A recent analysis looked at the differences in blood pressure (BP) changes as well as in serum lipids and other risk factors during the patients’ lifetimes. They concentrated more on BP changes, as these are presented in all clinical studies and hypertension contributes to the development of ischaemic heart disease and to HF. They analysed data from the Framingham, ARIC, CARDIA and MESA studies, concentrated on the ages of 5–98 years and looked at the presence of other risk factors. The results are: 32,833 patients, 54% of whom were women, follow-up of 43 years, 8,130 (24.8%) major CV events. Systolic blood pressure values in women reached the male values in the age subgroup of around 48–50 years and later they exceeded them. During the ageing process all blood pressure components increased more in women. The trends in blood pressure developments were not changed by other risk factors or by the treatment of hypertension. The occurrence of major CV events was higher in men (29.7%) than it was in women (20.5%). In women, the increase in BP is more progressive than in men and the same applies to vascular atherosclerotic changes. The pathogenesis of development of CV disease is different in each sex, possibly due to hormonal and genetic changes but also due to a complex set of social factors.

Keywords:

cardiovascular diseases – risk factors – blood pressure – differences between sexes

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