Targeting the angiotensin type 2 receptor to maintain cardiovascular protection in aging females

Postmenopausal women have a greater risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) than premenopausal women. Cardiovascular protection in young women may be attributed to an interaction between female sex-hormones and the angiotensin type 2 receptor (AT2R) of the blood-pressure system, a mechanism lost with age. Hormone replacement in aged females with CVD, may therefore restore the cardiovascular protective effects of the AT2R. The findings of this thesis demonstrate that estrogen and relaxin treatment in aged females improved blood-pressure and kidney function, and reversed organ-injury by enhancing AT2R function. Thus, targeting the AT2R may be a novel therapeutic strategy for treating CVD in postmenopausal women.