Researcher discusses roles that hormones, aging and sex play in heart disease risk
The statistics are sobering: Cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 killer of women in the United States, taking the life of one in three women. Additionally, nearly 45% of women ages 20 and over are living with some form of cardiovascular disease, and women are more likely than men to suffer a second heart attack.
The American Heart Association (AHA) highlights these statistics and more as part of its annual Go Red for Women campaign. The awareness campaign focused on women's heart health coincides with American Heart Month in February.
Key points:
- Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, with one person dying every 34 seconds.
- Cardiovascular research is increasingly closing the gap between what's known about heart disease in men and women, with the former having a history of more extensive study.
As part of a five-year NIH-funded study, Kerrie Moreau's team is trying to understand exercise response variation - who is getting or not getting the benefits of exercise on vascular health. Her team is studying sex hormones as well - estrogen in women and testosterone in men - to see how the hormones play a role in reaping some of the benefits.
"I think we just have to do more awareness - in the general public and among clinicians, too - to keep heart health at the front and center," said Kerrie Moreau, PhD, a professor of geriatric medicine at CU Anschutz.
Cardiovascular research is increasingly closing the gap between what's known about heart disease in men and women, with the former having a history of more extensive study. "We're learning more all the time," Moreau said. "Maybe some of the biomarkers that researchers are examining will be able to predict if someone's going to have a heart attack sooner rather than later."
Prevalence of heart disease, especially in women
- Cardiovascular diseases - including heart disease and stroke - claim more lives than all forms of cancer and accidental deaths combined.
- Less than half of women entering pregnancy in the U.S. have optimal cardiovascular health.
Women are more likely than men to be older and have a more complicated medical history at the time of their heart attacks.
Moreau is the principal investigator on a five-year, National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study that's examining the different levels of benefits women and men get from exercise. She is also the principal investigator on a Veterans Affairs (VA) Merit award project that seeks to improve cardiovascular health in veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by treating trauma-related nightmares with a novel digital therapeutic. She is also examining whether there are sex differences in the benefits received.
In this Q&A, Moreau discusses some of her research on cardiovascular disease (CVD), differences in how CVD presents between the sexes, and the benefits of "exercise snacks."
The interview has been edited and condensed.
