Health
Women may live longer than men because they have stronger hearts, a new study has suggested.
A team at Liverpool John Moores University found men's hearts lose up to a quarter of their pumping power from the ages of 18 to 70. There is however, little deterioration in women's hearts between age 20 and 70. The difference between the two may explain why women, on average, live up to five years longer than men.
Each of the 250 volunteers involved in the study underwent five hours of tests focusing on blood pressure, body composition and heart performance. The researchers found large arteries became stiffer with age causing blood pressure to increase both at rest and during exercise. In addition, blood flow to the muscles also progressively decreased and although this occurred earlier in men, women rapidly caught up after the menopause.
Lead researcher, Professor David Goldspink, maintained that despite these interesting findings it was the difference in heart strengths that was the major discovery. "This dramatic gender difference might just explain why women live longer than men."
Belinda Linden, head of medical information at the British Heart Foundation, was cautious of giving too much credence to the study's findings. "The number of men and women investigated may not be adequate to provide a conclusive interpretation of the findings," she said.
"The heart's function and efficiency is influenced by a wide range of factors including body weight, blood pressure, physical activity, diet and diabetes. We will wait for the final results to see whether the study has addressed these, or any other variables that could affect the heart as a pump, when interpreting these gender differences," Linden added.
