Rebecca Araujo

Urban Health Today

In a study in Cardiovascular Diabetology, researchers reported sex-specific differences in myocardial flow reserve (MFR) between men and women with type 2 diabetes, which may offer insights into the gender disparities in the risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality in this patient population.Myocardial microvascular dysfunction is common in patients with diabetes and may increase cardiovascular risk. Myocardial flow reserve is a noninvasive measure of myocardial circulation and blood flow under stress conditions. However, according to the authors of this study, sex-specific diagnostic cutoffs for MFR risk stratification are not well defined.The research team collected data from 901 individuals with diabetes but without known cardiovascular disease. Participants underwent cardiac rubidium-82 PET/CT scans to assess rates of myocardial blood flow (MBF) at rest and during stress. Myocardial blood flow was then used to calculate MFR. The mean age of participants was 65 years, and 29.5% were women.Men had higher MFR than women (2.59 vs 2.44; P=0.003), although there were no sex-specific differences in rates of MFR lower than 2. However, at both rest and pharmacologically induced stress, women had higher rates of MBF, despite lower MFR (P&lt;0.001). After researchers corrected for rate pressure product, the difference in MBF remained only at rest (P&lt;0.001), and MFR was no longer different between sexes. The researchers also noted a significant association between lower MFR and female sex, greater age, and elevated urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio when adjusting for multiple cardiovascular risk factors.The authors noted that &ldquo;age appeared to influence MFR differently in men and women, with women showing a slower decline in MFR compared to men.&rdquo;The results of this study lead to &ldquo;important clinical questions about the lower MFR in women, particularly in the context of diabetes,&rdquo; according to the authors, given that MFR is a prognostic marker for cardiovascular risk.Source:&nbsp;Skriver-M&oslash;ller AC, et al. Cardiovasc Diabetol. 2025;24(1):172. doi:<a href="https://cardiab.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12933-025-02717-5">10.1186/s12933-025-02717-5</a>

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Age influences myocardial flow reserve differently in men and women, with women showing a slower decline.

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