Sex-Specific Cardiac Remodeling in Aged Rats after Early-Life Chronic Stress: Associations with Endocrine and Metabolic Factors

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death worldwide. Rates of cardiovascular disease vary both across the lifespan and between sexes. While multiple factors, including adverse life experiences, impact the development and progression of cardiovascular disease, the potential interactions of biological sex and stress history on the aged heart are unknown. To this end, we examined sex- and stress-specific impacts on left ventricular hypertrophy (VH) after aging. We hypothesized that early life chronic stress exposure impacts behavioral and physiologic responses that predict cardiac remodeling in a sex-specific manner.