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Published on: September 17, 2021
Sex Differences in Coronary Microvascular Function in Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes
Andrea V Haas1, Bernard A Rosner2, Raymond Y Kwong3
1Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Hypertension, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA ahaas2@bwh.harvard.edu.
Insights
Women with type 2 diabetes show worse coronary microvascular dysfunction and diastolic function than men, even with good control. Higher aldosterone response in women may explain these cardiovascular differences.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Endocrinology
- Medical Research
Background:
- Cardiovascular disease fatality rates are higher in women with diabetes compared to men.
- Coronary microvascular dysfunction, indicated by impaired coronary flow reserve (CFR), is a key factor in adverse cardiovascular events.
- Type 2 diabetes complicates cardiovascular risk assessment, particularly regarding sex-based disparities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate sex disparities in coronary microvascular dysfunction among individuals with well-controlled type 2 diabetes.
- To compare coronary microvascular function and diastolic function between men and women with type 2 diabetes.
- To explore the role of aldosterone in sex-specific differences in cardiovascular function.
Main Methods:
- Post hoc analysis of 46 men and 27 women with type 2 diabetes and no obstructive coronary artery disease.
- Measurement of rest and adenosine-stimulated myocardial blood flow (MBF) to calculate CFR.
- Assessment of diastolic function and aldosterone levels following angiotensin-II infusion.
Main Results:
- Women exhibited higher rest MBF, lower CFR, and poorer diastolic function compared to men.
- Rest MBF was positively correlated with worse diastolic function in women.
- Women showed a greater increase in aldosterone levels in response to angiotensin-II infusion than men.
Conclusions:
- Women with type 2 diabetes and good cardiometabolic control demonstrate impaired myocardial perfusion and diastolic function relative to men.
- Sex differences in cardiovascular outcomes may be linked to greater aldosterone responsivity in women.
- Aldosterone may play a significant role in the pathophysiology of coronary microvascular dysfunction in diabetic women.
Abstract:
Cardiovascular (CV) disease fatality rates are higher for women compared with men with diabetes despite lower rates of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). Impaired coronary flow reserve (CFR), the ratio of adenosine-stimulated to rest myocardial blood flow (MBF), is an indicator of coronary microvascular dysfunction and predicts major adverse CV events. We performed a post hoc analysis to determine whether there was a sex disparity in coronary microvascular dysfunction among 46 men and 27 women with well-controlled type 2 diabetes and without clinical evidence of obstructive CAD. We found that women had a higher rest MBF, lower CFR, and worse diastolic function compared with men. In addition, rest MBF was positively correlated with worse diastolic function in women. We previously showed that mineralocorticoid blockade improved CFR in men and women with type 2 diabetes, implicating aldosterone in the pathophysiology of coronary microvascular dysfunction. We therefore examined aldosterone levels and found that women had larger increases in aldosterone in response to an angiotensin-II infusion than did men. In conclusion, among individuals with type 2 diabetes and good cardiometabolic control, women had worse myocardial perfusion and diastolic function compared with men. The greater aldosterone responsivity in women may be a mechanism for this sex effect.
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