We all assume that older men are at a higher risk of heat disease and heart attacks compared to older women. It seems that we need to rethink this model. A surprising new study finds that women in their 60s have as a number of risk factors for heart disease as men, and by their 70s have more, as per research led by demographers at the University of Southern California.

The findings, reported in the current issue of the Journal of Women's Health, reflect a change from prior decades when older men were at greater risk for heart disease. Instead this research shows over the last 10 years, older women are doing worse, while men are doing better.

Women's risk for heart disease is still lower than men's through middle age. But the break-even point at which women catch up to men is now at age 60, 10 years earlier than before.

"Women are no longer protected from heart disease risk relative to men," said Eileen Crimmins, corresponding author and professor in USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. "Reports indicating that men are more likely to have more high-risk levels of blood pressure and cholesterol are no longer true in the U.S. population over 60 years of age".

Crimmins and her colleagues examined changes between 1988 and 2002 in indicators correlation to cardiovascular disease. The research team used data on men and women 40 and older from two broadly representative samples of the US population, approximately 10 years apart.

Among the findings:

• High risk blood pressure - both diastolic and systolic - increased in women but decreased in men. Medication against high blood pressure appeared to be more effective in men than women.
• Both men and women saw a decrease in high-risk HDL cholesterol, but men showed greater improvement. The use of cholesterol-lowering medicine increased somewhat more for men.
• More women than men had high C-Reactive Protein (a marker of infection that in elevated levels has been shown to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease). This appears to be linked to increased use of hormone-replacement treatment, Crimmins said.

Posted by: Emily    Source

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