New Insights Into Arterial Stiffening: Does Sex Matter?

Androgens influence vascular remodeling. Pre-menopausal women show stable vascular biomarker measures (pulse pressure and augmentation index) across menstrual cycles, with lower stiffness than men from puberty to menopause. While both sexes experience increased arterial stiffness with age, men’s rise is steeper. Post-menopausal women have stiffer arteries despite similar blood pressure. Testosterone deficiency worsens arterial stiffness in metabolic disorder-afflicted men, while hypogonadism correlates with increased stiffness in aging men, reversible with testosterone replacement. Prostate cancer treatment-induced testosterone suppression exacerbates arterial stiffening. These findings underscore testosterone’s protective role in male vascular health.