Funding outcome

Your blood pressure is partly regulated by your sympathetic nervous system (also known as your 'fight or flight' response). Sympathetic activity affects the size of your blood vessels, which then affects your blood pressure. Men and women regulate their blood pressure in different ways. Women usually have lower blood pressure and sympathetic activity than their male counterparts. Women also have less constriction of their blood vessels in response to stress. This may be because the female hormone estrogen causes blood vessels to dilate, or due to differences in receptors for the chemical signals that are released by the nervous system during stress. However, women who have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) tend to have higher levels of male sex hormones such as testosterone. They also have higher sympathetic activity. The main purpose of this study is to examine to the differences in how males and females with and without PCOS control of their blood vessels. To study this question, we will test how blood vessels respond to low doses of drugs that affect blood pressure. It is important to understand the basic mechanisms that regulate blood pressure in health and disease. This may provide new avenues for treatment or intervention. For example, women are less likely to have diseases that affect your heart and blood vessels than men. However, the risk of cardiovascular disease is higher in women with PCOS, and there is evidence that the sympathetic nervous system may play a role, but we don't know why. Understanding the link between this condition and cardiovascular risk will inform future research and could help to improve women's health care.