The effect of estrogens on the cardiovascular system in men, what do we know today?

Background: One of the most controversial topics in the scientific community of urologists, cardiologists and endocrinologists is the problem of the estrogen role in the male body. There are significant differences in the development and evolution of a number of diseases, for example, cardiovascular, in men and women. In particular, mortality in middle-aged and young men from diseases of the ardiovascular system is significantly higher than in women, which can be attributed to the difference in the levels of sex hormones - androgens and estrogens. According to the world scientific community, estrogens in women perform an obvious protective role, which is associated with the rarer development of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in the reproductive period. Why, then, the shift in the balance of androgens and estrogens in men in favor of the latter not only does not give advantages in terms of protection of the cardiovascular system, but, on the contrary, increases the risks. It is common that hyperestrogenism in the male body is associated with an increase in the volume of adipose tissue and, consequently, an unfavorable profile of metabolic parameters. In the same time there is currently no coherent generally accepted concept about the negative effects of estrogens in men in the light of cardiovascular risks and possible ways to correct this condition. The purpose of the review: to determine the presence of an association of estradiol levels as the most active estrogen with cardiovascular diseases in men.

estrogens, estradiol, cardiovascular diseases, androgens, men, risk factors

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