Abstract
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a highly impairing psychiatric condition, and women are twice as likely as men to receive a diagnosis. It is thought that chronic arousal and physiological stress place individuals with PTSD at greater risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Sex differences in CVD are also well established. For example, premenopausal women have lower CVD risk compared to men, and this is partly explained by higher levels of estradiol in premenopausal women. Estradiol is considered to be a protective factor against PTSD as well; therefore, it is important to understand the role of sex hormones in PTSD and CVD, including whether or not there is shared impact of sex hormones on the co-occurrence of these diseases. In this review, we discuss sex differences in PTSD and CVD, as well as the brain-heart connection in the PTSD-CVD link and current treatment approaches, considering sex as a biological variable. [ Psychiatr Ann . 2022;52(1):26–30.]
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