Gender/Sex as a Social Determinant of CVD Risk

Question 1

Social Determinants

Answer 1

Conditions of daily life that influence health outcomes, including socioeconomic position, race, ethnicity, social support, culture, access to medical care, and residential environments.

Question 2

Gender

Answer 2

Characteristics that identify men, women, or non-binary individuals that are socially produced, shapes and interacts with one’s cognition to guide norms, roles, behaviors, and social relations and is a fluid construct.

Question 3

Sex

Answer 3

Biological, physiological, and anatomical characteristics that categorize individuals based on reproductive function

Question 4

Health Behaviors

Answer 4

Actions that can directly affect health outcomes (ex. smoking, physical inactivity, poor diet, etc)

Question 5

Biological Markers

Answer 5

Characteristics that are measured and evaluated as an indicator of normal or abnormal biological processes

Question 6

Subclinical Disease

Answer 6

A disease that stays below the surface of clinical detection

Question 7

Comorbidities

Answer 7

Diseases that occur simultaneously

Question 8

Candidate Mechanistic Pathways

Answer 8

Biochemical step-by-step processes which lead to a certain result.

Question 9

Social Isolation

Answer 9

Lack of relationships with others and little to no social support or contact, risk factor for CVD.

Question 10

Biobehavioral Factors

Answer 10

Interactions between biological processes and behavioral factors that influence an individual’s health and susceptibility to disease.

Question 11

Atrial Fibrillation

Answer 11

Irregular and often very rapid heart rhythm.

Question 12

Psychosocial Stress

Answer 12

An intense level of stress caused by a life situation (ex. divorce)

Question 13

IPV Victimization

Answer 13

Interpersonal violence victimization, can have negative cardiovascular consequences.

Question 14

Carotid Atherosclerosis

Answer 14

When fatty deposits build up along the inner layer of the carotid artery forming plaque, narrowing the arteries and decreasing or blocking blood flow

Question 15

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy

Answer 15

Temporary heart condition that develops in response to an intense emotional or physical experience where the heart’s main pumping chamber changes shape, affecting the heart’s ability to pump blood effectively, “broken heart syndrome”

Question 16

Systolic blood pressure

Answer 16

Measures he pressure in your arteries when your heart beats

Question 17

Diastolic blood pressure

Answer 17

Measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart rests between beats.

Question 18

Hypoarousal

Answer 18

Freeze response to stress or trauma

Question 19

Coercive Control

Answer 19

A form of IPV in which a perpetrator gains control and power by eroding a person’s autonomy and self-esteem

Question 20

High Trait Control

Answer 20

Behaviors such as dominance which are marked by the lack of need to downregulate or inhibit undesired impulses due to avoidance, can elevate risk of high blood pressure in men.

Question 21

Immunoinflammatory

Answer 21

Relating to inflammation caused or modified by antibodies

Question 22

Autonomic

Answer 22

Relating to the autonomic nervous system

Question 23

Endocrine

Answer 23

Relating to system that regulates hormones

Question 24

Chronic Stressor

Answer 24

Stressors that are ongoing everyday issues

Question 25

Summary

Answer 25

Gender should be considered a social determinant of CVD that is modifiable through efforts to improve gender equality. To date, it is unclear whether reducing gender inequities at the broader societal level or lessening strict gendered roles that shape cardiovascular-related behaviors at the individual level would improve the cardiovascular risk of populations.