Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2007;4(4):227-232.
doi: 10.1016/j.ddmod.2007.11.002.

Models of Gender Differences in Cardiovascular Disease

Richard D Patten  1
Affiliations

Models of Gender Differences in Cardiovascular Disease

Richard D Patten. Drug Discov Today Dis Models. 2007.

Abstract

Clinical observations made over several decades support the existence of gender differences in cardiovascular disease prevalence and severity. For example, women exhibit a delay in the onset of vascular disease compared to men and the temporal link between menopause and the rise in vascular events in women suggests that ovarian hormones may be important in reducing the risk of vascular disease in women. Gender differences have also been observed in the severity and outcome of myocardial diseases such that women with heart failure have a better prognosis than men coupled with gender-specific patterns of ventricular remodeling. These clinical observations have fostered great interest in understanding the mechanisms of gender differences in cardiovascular diseases with the goal being to identify novel therapeutic targets. The purpose of this review is to describe animal models of cardiovascular disease that have demonstrated clear gender differences in the pathophysiologic responses to a given stimulus. Animal models from two broad areas of cardiovascular investigation will be highlighted: vascular disease and heart failure.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Light micrographs of injured carotid arteries from male and female wild type mice 28 days after ligation injury. Mice were studied either intact or after ovariectomy (ovex). Female mice were treated with 17β-estradiol (E2) or vehicle. These figures demonstrate a marked reduction in the vascular injury response in females that is lost upon ovariectomy and restored by estrogen replacement. Reproduced with permission from [15].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic of gender-specific patterns of LV remodeling in response to a hypertrophic stimulus such as pressure or volume overload. Typically, females develop a concentric pattern of hypertrophy characterized by an increase in wall thickness and maintenance of normal chamber size. Male hearts, however, tend to develop more of an eccentric pattern of hypertrophy in which the LV chamber dilates but wall thickness remains the same.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. American Heart Association. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics: 2005 Statistical Supplement. Dallas, TX: American Heart Association; 2005. pp. 1–60.
    1. Lerner DJ, Kannel WB. Patterns of coronary heart disease morbidity and mortality in the sexes: a 26-year follow-up of the Framingham population. Am Heart J. 1986;111:383–390. - PubMed
    1. O'Meara E, Clayton T, McEntegart MB, McMurray JJV, Pina IL, Granger CB, Ostergren J, Michelson EL, Solomon SD, Pocock S, Yusuf S, Swedberg K, Pfeffer MA. Sex Differences in Clinical Characteristics and Prognosis in a Broad Spectrum of Patients With Heart Failure: Results of the Candesartan in Heart failure: Assessment of Reduction in Mortality and morbidity (CHARM) Program. Circulation. 2007;115:3111–3120. - PubMed
    1. Hayward CS, Kelly RP, Collins P. The roles of gender, the menopause and hormone replacement on cardiovascular function. Cardiovasc Res. 2000;46:28–49. - PubMed
    1. Carroll JD, Carroll EP, Feldman T, Ward DM, Lang RM, McGaughey D, Karp RB. Sex-associated differences in left ventricular function in aortic stenosis of the elderly. Circulation. 1992;86:1099–1107. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources