To the Editor, The interesting paper of Merz and Cheng did not mention iron as a plausible non-hormonal factor, which might in part explain the sex differences in cardiovascular ageing.1

Mounting evidence suggests that the metabolic derangements and detrimental cardiovascular effects usually attributed to menopause represent only a mere consequence of the older age of menopausal women, rather than related to the loss of ovarian function. In fact, heart protection by premenopausal levels of female hormones, that is, the oestrogen …