Skip to main content

Hormonal Arterial Stiffening

Meaning

Hormonal arterial stiffening is the pathological process where the elastic properties of the major arteries degrade, leading to increased vascular rigidity, primarily influenced by chronic hormonal imbalance or deficiency. This condition, a precursor to hypertension and cardiovascular disease, is characterized by a reduced capacity of the arterial wall to expand and recoil in response to the cardiac cycle. Estrogen deficiency in post-menopausal women, for example, is strongly correlated with this adverse vascular remodeling. Clinical assessment of arterial stiffness is a crucial marker for cardiovascular risk stratification in the context of endocrine aging.