OBJECTIVE Reduced cardiac parasympathetic activity, as indicated by a reduced level of clinic or ambulatory high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV), is associated with an increased risk for atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. We tested whether the reduction in HF-HRV to a psychological stressor relative to a baseline level is also associated with subclinical coronary or aortic a...

BACKGROUND Cigarette smoking is a major risk factor of atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between smoking and arterial hypertension as well as endothelial dysfunction in postmenopausal women without clinically manifested symptoms of atherosclerosis. MATERIAL/METHODS The study groups consisted of 35 current smokers and 45 nonsmokers. The thickness of intima-m...

Introduction: The development of arterial plaques, known clinically as atherosclerosis, is at the root of a significant number of deaths related to heart attack and stroke. The risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) drastically increases for women when they reach the age of menopause. Menopause is characterized by a cessation of ovarian function leading to a deficiency in circulating estrogens. ...

There is now a large body of evidence suggesting that the decline in ovarian function with menopause is associated with spontaneous increases in proinflammatory cytokines. The cytokines that have obtained the most attention are IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-alpha. The exact mechanisms by which estrogen interferes with cytokine activity are still incompletely known but may potentially include interactions...

Currently, more than a quarter of the female adult world population and 3-fold more of postmenopausal women in the United Sates have arterial hypertension. Sex differences in blood pressure (BP) and rate of hypertension play an important role in the susceptibility to cardiovascular disease. Moreover, hypertension is often undiagnosed or inadequately controlled in women, especially after menopau...

background: the type of body fat distribution has an important role for identifying risk of diseases. one of the simple anthropometric indexes for estimating type of body fat distribution is waist circumference index. this study is aimed to determine the type of body fat distribution in postmenopausal women and its related factors. methods: this is a cross sectional descriptive analytical study...

The current study was aimed at comparing genital and subjective sexual arousal in pre- and postmenopausal women and exploring the effects of heightened sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity on these parameters. Seventy-one women (25 young and premenopausal, 25 postmenopausal, and 21 age-matched premenopausal women) participated in two counterbalanced sessions consisting of genital arousal a...

background: osteoporosis is a common disease characterized by reduction in bone mass, due to depletion of calcium and bone protein. a pivotal role of the sympathetic nervous system in bone remodeling has been considered. on the other hand, elevated central sympathetic activation in postmenopausal women is involved in the creation of vasomotor symptoms. also, sympathetic skin response (ssr) has ...

BACKGROUND Menopausal health in our environment has received little attention. As an independent risk factor for dyslipidaemia, the degree and pattern of derangement, though difficult to assess may adversely affect the cardiovascular health of our women. OBJECTIVES To estimate the serum lipid profile and the atherogenic index of plasma in normal post menopausal women. METHODS This is a cros...