Hypertensive Cardiac Remodeling in Males and Females

Cardiovascular diseases affect women and men differently: there are sex-dependent differences in the age at which they become manifest, in the pathophysiologic consequences of various insults, in the relative importance of risk factors, and in the responses to several treatments (as reviewed recently).1,2 Although many of these differences may relate to modifications of the lipid profile, as well as differences in the functions of endothelial and/or vascular smooth muscle cells, it is becoming clear that direct actions within the heart itself must also be considered. The current review will, therefore, focus on sex-specific differences in the remodeling responses of cardiac ventricles to various challenges.