sodium-ethylxanthate and Cardiovascular-Diseases

By undergoing erosion with each replicative cycle, telomeres chronicle the replicative history of human somatic cells in vitro and in vivo. In human beings the telomere is relatively short, inversely correlated with age, highly heritable, and longer in women than men. However, it is not established whether the dynamics of telomere attrition in vivo has a role in the biology of human aging. Telomere attrition may be modified by reactive oxygen species, the biology of which is governed by processes that are influenced by sex. Indices of cardiovascular aging in humans are correlated with telomere length and this relationship is characterized by sexual dimorphism. In the final analysis, the biology of reactive oxygen species may offer a common explanation for some interindividual variation in cardiovascular aging and age-dependent telomere attrition in humans.

Topics: Aging; Cardiovascular Diseases; Cell Division; Cellular Senescence; DNA Damage; Gene Expression; Humans; Reactive Oxygen Species; Sex; Telomere

Topics: Age of Onset; Aged; Blood Coagulation Factors; Cardiovascular Diseases; Endothelium, Vascular; Estrogen Replacement Therapy; Estrogens; Female; Fibrinogen; Gonadal Steroid Hormones; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Polymorphism, Genetic; Risk Factors; Sex

Cardiovascular diseases are the major causes of illness and death in women. Premenopausal women are relatively protected from coronary artery disease and atherosclerosis as compared to postmenopausal women, and this protection is attributed to the effects of the female sex hormone (estrogen). The vasculature, like the reproductive tissues, bone, liver, and brain, is now recognized as an important site of estrogen's action. Although estrogen's beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system are well described in many studies, the molecular basis of estrogen protective mechanisms are still quite vague. Both genomic mechanisms, mediated primarily through estrogen receptor alpha (ER alpha) and estrogen receptor beta (ER beta), and non-genomic mechanisms, through nitric oxide (NO), of estrogen action are controversial and do not entirely explain the effects of estrogen on vascular preservation during conditions of oxidative stress. Until recently, the atheroprotective effects of estrogen were attributed principally to its effects on serum lipid concentrations and cholesterol levels. However, two recent reports that estrogen therapy has no effect on the progression of coronary atherosclerosis in women with established disease, despite the favorable changes in LDL and cholesterol levels, leads to questions about the lipid/cholesterol mechanism of estrogen-mediated effects on atherosclerosis. Alternatively, the high level of homocysteine, found to correlate with accelerated cardiovascular disease and identified as an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis, was recently described to be diminished by estrogen. Protection against disturbed sulfhydryl metabolism and higher homocysteine level could be the missing link in understanding how exactly estrogen affects vascular cells metabolism and responses to oxidative stress. This review focuses on estrogen/homocysteine interactions and their relevance to the cardiovascular system.

Topics: Breast Neoplasms; Cardiovascular Diseases; Cholesterol; Endothelium, Vascular; Estrogens; Female; Homocysteine; Humans; Lipids; Oxidative Stress; Risk Factors; Sex; Uterine Neoplasms

Cardiovascular disease (CVD), and in particular coronary artery heart disease (CAHD), is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in women. Until recently, most of our knowledge about the pathophysiology of CVD in women - and, subsequently, management guidelines - were based on studies conducted mostly in men. While similar mechanisms operate to induce CVD in women and men, gender-related differences exist in the anatomy and physiology of the myocardium, and sex hormones modify the course of disease in women. Women, more than men, have their initial manifestation of CAHD as angina pectoris; are likely to be referred for diagnostic tests at a more advanced stage of disease, and are less likely than men to have corrective invasive procedures. The overall morbidity and mortality following the initial ischaemic heart event is worse in women, and the case fatality rate is greater in women than in men. Also, the relative impact of impaired vasoreactivity of the coronary artery, increased viscosity of the blood and dysregulation of automaticity and arrhythmia, is greater in women than in men. The most effective means of decreasing the impact of CVD on women's health is by an active approach from childhood to proper principles of healthcare in order to modify the contribution of specific risk factors. The latter include obesity, abnormal plasma lipid profile, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cigarette smoking, sedentary lifestyle, increased blood viscosity, augmented platelet aggregability, stress and autonomic imbalance. The use of lipid-lowering drugs has not been adequately studied in women but reports from studies conducted mostly in men do predict an advantage also to women. Oestrogen deficiency after spontaneous or medically induced menopause is an important risk factor for CVD and CAHD. Observational and mechanistic data suggest a role for oestrogen replacement after menopause for primary, and possibly secondary, prevention of CVD. However, two recent prospective trials suggest that treatment de novo with hormone replacement of older post-menopausal women after an acute coronary event may not confer cardiovascular protection and may increase the risk of thromboembolic disease. Results of ongoing long-term studies may determine the beneficial role of hormone replacement versus potential risks involved with this treatment.

Topics: Aged; Blood Viscosity; Cardiovascular Diseases; Diabetes Complications; Estrogen Replacement Therapy; Estrogens; Female; Humans; Hyperlipidemias; Hypertension; Life Style; Male; Middle Aged; Obesity; Postmenopause; Progesterone Congeners; Risk Factors; Sex; Smoking; Stress, Psychological

Considerable progress has been made in our understanding of the role of high heart rate in determining cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However, whether the association between fast heart rate and cardiovascular disease is equally strong in males and females is still a matter for debate. In most studies, the predictive value of tachycardia for all-cause mortality has been found to be weaker in women than in men, and in some studies no association between heart rate and cardiovascular mortality was observed. In particular, high heart rate appeared to be a weak predictor of death from coronary heart disease in the female gender. Multiple mechanisms by which sympathetic overactivity could cause hypertension and the metabolic syndrome of insulin resistance have been documented. Recent results obtained at the Ann Arbor laboratory from the analysis of four populations indicate that these mechanisms are operative mostly in males in whom tachycardia reflects a heightened sympathetic tone. In women, fast heart rate would merely represent the extreme of a normal distribution. However, tachycardia can also have a direct impact on the arterial wall, as demonstrated in laboratory studies, and can favour the occurrence of cardiac arrhythmias. The impact of these mechanisms may be similar in men and women and could explain why a high heart rate has been found to have a detrimental effect also in the female gender. Pharmacological reduction of high heart rate is an additional desirable goal of therapy in several clinical conditions such as hypertension, myocardial infarction and congestive heart failure. Although a greater effect is expected in men, cardiac slowing could counteract the detrimental haemodynamic effect of tachycardia also in women.

Topics: Cardiovascular Diseases; Female; Heart Rate; Humans; Hypertension; Male; Risk Factors; Sex; Tachycardia

Diabetes mellitus is a common disorder associated with devastating chronic complications involving end-organ damage and cardiovascular disease. In addition, diabetes imposes a heavy burden due to medical costs, hospitalization, and time lost from work. Women who suffer from the condition have a high risk of developing the complications that stem from it, and, therefore, there must be unknown factors contributing to high mortality and morbidity among women with diabetes. There is a great need for future research to address the issues regarding women and diabetes to help clinicians develop preventive and management strategies that target this population.

Topics: Age Factors; Cardiovascular Diseases; Diabetes Complications; Diabetes Mellitus; Disease Progression; Female; Humans; Incidence; Kidney Diseases; Male; Prevalence; Risk Factors; Sex; Sex Factors; United States

More women than men die of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and data in the literature point to the existence of gender differences pertaining to CVD. These differences may result in gender bias. Data support the existence of gender bias in referral for testing procedures and the treatment of possible CVD; in addition, research on pharmacologic agents and instruments for assessment of CVD show gender bias. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the extent of gender bias in the recognition, evaluation, and treatment of CVD in women. Social forces are considered, and implications for future research, patient education, diagnostic testing, methodology, and effective attitude management are delineated.

Topics: Cardiovascular Diseases; Female; Health Services Accessibility; Humans; Male; Prejudice; Sex; Sex Distribution; Women's Health

Topics: Cardiovascular Diseases; Disease; Endocrine System Diseases; Female; Humans; Liver Cirrhosis; Male; Nervous System Diseases; Sex; Sexual Behavior; Surgical Procedures, Operative; Urinary Tract Infections; Urologic Diseases

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Arthritis, Rheumatoid; Asthma; Cardiovascular Diseases; Coitus; Counseling; Diabetes Complications; Disabled Persons; Erectile Dysfunction; Female; Humans; Kidney Diseases; Lung Diseases, Obstructive; Male; Pregnancy; Sex; Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological; Spinal Cord Injuries

Topics: Cardiovascular Diseases; Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; COVID-19; Female; Humans; Male; Research Design; Sex; Sex Characteristics; Sex Factors

Many Eastern Mediterranean countries are undergoing dramatic socioeconomic, demographic and life style changes and face noncommunicable disease (NCD) epidemics. We evaluated recent trends in major NCD risk factors in occupied Palestinian territories (OPT), Turkey, Syria and Tunisia.. We searched published and unpublished sources for systolic blood pressure (SBP), diabetes, smoking, body mass index (BMI), and cholesterol trends for both men and women aged 35-84 in each country from 1995 to 2009.. Smoking prevalence was stable over time in Tunisia and Syria, but decreasing in Turkey (annual change -0.9%) and OPT (annual change -0.7%). Mean BMI (annual change of 0.1% for Turkey, 0.2% for OPT and Tunisia and 0.3% in Syria) and diabetes (annual change of 0.3% for Turkey, 0.4% for OPT and Tunisia and 0.7% in Syria) prevalence increased in each country. SBP levels increased slightly in Tunisia and Syria but decreased in OPT and Turkey.. Recent risk factor trends are worrying. Good quality data on the extent and determinants of NCDs are essential to respond the changing health needs of populations with burgeoning NCD epidemics.

Topics: Adult; Age Factors; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Blood Pressure; Body Mass Index; Cardiovascular Diseases; Cholesterol; Diabetes Mellitus; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Middle East; Prevalence; Risk Factors; Sex; Smoking; Socioeconomic Factors; Tunisia

The complexity of gender differences in health (i.e., men's lower life expectancy and women's greater morbidity) extends beyond notions of either social or biological disadvantage. Gaps remain in understanding the antecedents of such differences and the issues this paradox raises regarding the connections between social and biological processes. Our goals in this analytic essay are to make the case that gender differences in health matter and that understanding these differences requires an explanation of why rational people are not effective in making health a priority in their everyday lives. We describe some salient gender health differences in cardiovascular disease, immune function and disorders, and depression and indicate why neither social nor biological perspectives alone are sufficient to account for them. We consider the limitations of current models of socioeconomic and racial/ethnic health disparities to explain the puzzling gender differences in health. Finally, we discuss constrained choice, a key issue that is missing in the current understanding of these gender differences, and call on the social science community to work with biomedical researchers on the interdisciplinary work required to address the paradoxical differences in men's and women's health.

Topics: Cardiovascular Diseases; Choice Behavior; Depressive Disorder; Disease Susceptibility; Female; Health Behavior; Health Status; Humans; Immune System Diseases; Male; Risk; Sex; Sex Distribution; Social Medicine; United States

Increased cardiovascular mortality and carotid atherosclerosis have been observed in hypopituitary patients with untreated GH deficiency (GHD), but results are contradictory and relations to cardiovascular risk factors are not clear. The aim of this study was to investigate intima-media thickness (IMT) in relation to cardiovascular risk factors in adults with GHD.. Cross-sectional observational study of 21 men and 13 women with GHD, but without cardiovascular disease, compared to two healthy control groups matched for age, sex and smoking habits. One control group was matched for body mass index (BMI) and the other group was nonobese.. IMT of the carotid and femoral arteries, blood pressure, blood samples and anthropometric data.. Patients had 12% thicker composite carotid IMT [(IMT of common carotid artery + IMT of bulb)/2] compared to nonobese controls (P = 0.022), but IMT was not different compared to BMI-matched controls. Femoral IMT did not differ between patients and controls. Patients had higher waist : hip ratio (WHR), heart rate, serum triglycerides and fasting insulin concentrations in combination with lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and smaller low-density lipoprotein (LDL) peak particle size compared to both nonobese and to BMI-matched controls. This cardiovascular risk pattern was more pronounced in female patients than in male patients compared to their gender controls. Carotid IMT was related to age, serum cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and smoking in the patient group. Only age was independently related to carotid IMT in multivariate analysis.. These results indicate that high BMI in GH-deficient patients contribute to their increased intima-media thickness. However, several cardiovascular risk factors are present in this patient group independent of their increased BMI, especially in women.

Topics: Adult; Age Factors; Body Mass Index; Cardiovascular Diseases; Carotid Artery, Common; Case-Control Studies; Cholesterol; Cholesterol, LDL; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Femoral Artery; Growth Hormone; Humans; Hypopituitarism; Male; Middle Aged; Multivariate Analysis; Obesity; Risk Factors; Sex; Sex Factors; Smoking; Statistics, Nonparametric; Tunica Intima; Ultrasonography

Topics: Arteriosclerosis; Autonomic Nervous System; Cardiovascular Diseases; Coronary Vessels; Endothelium, Vascular; Female; Humans; Hypertension; Male; Myocardium; Renin-Angiotensin System; Risk Factors; Sex

Topics: Aged; Calcium Signaling; Cardiovascular Diseases; Disease Susceptibility; Estradiol; Estrogen Replacement Therapy; Female; Humans; Kidney Diseases; Male; Middle Aged; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular; Myocardial Reperfusion Injury; Nitric Oxide; Nitric Oxide Synthase; Sex

The object of this study was to investigate the relationship between residence, occupation and smoking habits, and mortality from chronic diseases, particularly lung cancer. It was a prospective study, initiated by a questionnaire sent to Canadian veteran pension recipients. The study was based on the replies of 78,000 males and 14,000 females, together with data on the deaths occurring among these respondents over a six-year follow-up period-July 1, 1956 to January 30, 1962.The outstanding finding of this study was that cigarette smokers compared to non-smokers had excessive mortality, particularly from heart and circulatory diseases, lung cancer, and bronchitis and emphysema. The mortality ratios for heart and circulatory diseases were elevated even for those who smoked cigarettes less than five years, and remained relatively constant as the duration of smoking increased. The mortality ratios for lung cancer increased markedly as the duration of smoking increased. A small excess in mortality was noted among urban residents. An association between cause of death and occupation was not evident in this study.Findings based on the data on smoking collected in this study were incorporated into the Report of the U.S. Surgeon-General's Advisory Committee on Smoking and Health.

Topics: Adult; Bronchitis; Canada; Cardiovascular Diseases; Coronary Disease; Female; Humans; Lung Diseases; Lung Neoplasms; Male; Middle Aged; Pulmonary Emphysema; Sex; Smoking

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aging; Cardiovascular Diseases; Child; Child, Preschool; Female; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Lung Diseases; Male; Middle Aged; Mortality; Neoplasms; Sex; Sweden

Topics: Adult; Aged; Aging; Body Height; Body Weight; Cardiomegaly; Cardiovascular Diseases; Female; Heart; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Radiography; Sex

Topics: Aging; Autopsy; Cardiovascular Diseases; Demography; Family Characteristics; Hospitalization; Humans; Neoplasms; New York; Religion; Sex; Statistics as Topic; Wounds and Injuries

Topics: Aging; Black People; Cardiovascular Diseases; Cholesterol; Geriatrics; Humans; Residence Characteristics; Sex; White People

Topics: Adolescent; Aging; Blood Glucose; Blood Pressure; Cardiovascular Diseases; Cholesterol; Coronary Disease; Epidemiologic Studies; Epidemiology; Geriatrics; Heart Defects, Congenital; Heart Failure; Humans; Hypertension; Michigan; Obesity; Rheumatic Heart Disease; Sex; Smoking

Topics: Adolescent; Cardiovascular Diseases; Cerebrovascular Disorders; Coronary Disease; Diabetes Mellitus; Epidemiology; Geriatrics; Humans; Hyperglycemia; Hypertension; Michigan; Sex; Vascular Diseases

Topics: Aging; Alpha-Globulins; Beta-Globulins; Black People; Blood Pressure; Blood Protein Electrophoresis; Body Constitution; Cardiovascular Diseases; Cholesterol; gamma-Globulins; Genetics, Medical; Georgia; Health Surveys; Heart Diseases; Hematocrit; Humans; Serum Albumin; Serum Globulins; Sex; White People

Topics: Aging; Cardiovascular Diseases; Humans; Morbidity; Mortality; Neoplasms; Sex

Topics: Aging; Barbiturates; Biomedical Research; Brain Diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases; Electroencephalography; Epilepsy; Humans; Hypertension; Migraine Disorders; Neurosurgery; Sex; Trigeminal Neuralgia

Topics: Aging; Cardiovascular Diseases; Coronary Disease; Humans; Kidney Diseases; Life Expectancy; Mortality; Public Health; Sex; Statistics as Topic; United States

Topics: Blood Sedimentation; Cardiovascular Diseases; Collagen Diseases; Fever; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Geriatrics; Humans; Neoplasms; Respiratory Tract Infections; Sex; Statistics as Topic; Tuberculosis; Urinary Tract Infections

Topics: Cardiovascular Diseases; Classification; Diagnosis; Geriatrics; Japan; Middle Aged; Myocardial Infarction; Prognosis; Sex; Statistics as Topic

Topics: Aged; Aging; Cardiovascular Diseases; Eye Diseases; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Ophthalmoscopy; Retinal Vessels; Sex; Thrombosis; Visual Field Tests

Topics: Cardiovascular Diseases; Humans; Myocardial Infarction; Sex; Sex Distribution