Sex Steroids and the Cardiovascular System

Evidence accumulated over the past decade show that gonadal steroid hormones participate in an important way in the physiological and pa­ thophysiological regulation of the cardiovascular system. The hor­ monal profile appears to put males at a disadvantage biologically in terms of cardiovascular diseases. The incidence of hypertension is higher in men than in pre-monopausal women indicating an influence of gender on the hypertensive disease process. Males and females have equivalent cholester