Argentine researchers win award for study on female cardiovascular risk

Researchers from the Universidad Abierta Interamericana (UAI) and Conicet have been awarded the ARTERY LATAM Argentina prize for Best Research in Vascular Mechanics. The study, which will be presented at the ARTERY 26 international congress in Croatia, focuses on accelerated vascular aging in women who are classified as low cardiovascular risk by traditional scoring methods.

Led by Dr. Albertina Ghelfi and a multidisciplinary team including Dr. Alejandro Díaz, the research analyzed 587 women aged 18 to 59. The study suggests that conventional calculators—which typically weigh age, blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking, and diabetes—fail to account for gender-specific clinical and reproductive factors such as early menarche, premature menopause, or complicated pregnancies.

By utilizing pulse wave velocity to determine the actual age of the arteries, the team identified signs of premature arterial aging in individuals whom standard tools deemed low-risk. This research aims to address residual cardiovascular risk by identifying factors that current technologies can visualize but traditional diagnostic methods often overlook.