Gender Differences in the Regression of Electrocardiographic Left Ventricular Hypertrophy During Antihypertensive Therapy.

摘要

Despite a common underestimation of cardiovascular (CV) risk in women, CV disease represents the leading cause of death in Western countries in both sexes. It is now widely recognized that the pathophysiology and the clinical manifestations of CV diseases differ significantly between genders. After a period of relative "protection" from CV events in the premenopausal phase, the increase in CV risk associated with aging becomes steeper in females after menopause. The mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are not completely understood; changes in body composition, plasma glucose and lipid levels, and in blood pressure (BP) values may partially explain the observed increase in CV risk. A significant effect exerted by gender in cardiac adaptation to increased workload has been described,1 with women having a greater increase in the prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy and of concentric geometry with progressive aging