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11 September 2006
Women Catch Up With Men In Heart Disease Stakes 
Sometimes, sexual equality has its downside. A new study has found that women in their 60s now have as many risk factors for heart disease as men, and even worse, by their 70s they have more. Over the last decade, as far as heart disease goes, women are doing worse, while men are doing considerably better. The new study, published in the Journal of Women's Health comes from the University of Southern California and reflects a change from previous decades when men were at greater risk for heart disease. The changes only seem to affect older women, as 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. "Women are no longer protected from heart disease risk relative to men," said study co-author Eileen Crimmins. "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." Other findings included: - High risk blood pressure, both diastolic and systolic. Medication against hypertension appeared to be more effective in men than women.
- Both men and women saw a decrease in high-risk HDL cholesterol.
- 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).
Source: University of Southern California
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