Washington D.C.: According to new research women's blood vessels age faster than men's and puts them at risk of heart disease. Research showed that blood vessels in women - from major arteries to tiny capillaries - physically deteriorate and become less efficient at a faster rate than in men. The breakthrough research could help to explain why women tend to develop different types of cardiovascular disease and with different timing than men. The finding was published in the journal JAMA Cardiology.

According to Susan Cheng, MD, MPH, MMSc, senior author of the study and director of Public Health Research at the Smidt Heart Institute, "Many of us in medicine have long believed that women simply 'catch up' to men in terms of their cardiovascular risk, our research not only confirms that women have different biology and physiology than their male counterparts but also illustrates why it is that women may be more susceptible to developing certain types of cardiovascular disease and at different points in life."