ABSTRACT
Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in both women and men. At younger ages, men are at a significantly greater risk of developing CHD, but as women age, the female risk for CHD approaches that of men. The prevalence of CHD in women aged between 45 and 64 years is 1 in 7. Over the age of 65 it is 1 in 3. A significant number of women have atherosclerotic lesions even if they have no clinical signs of CHD. Mortality rises by age in both genders. The male/female excess is 5:1 for those aged 35-44 years, but only 1. 5:1 for those over 75 years. One in four women of age 60 and older will eventually die of CHD. A 50-year-old woman has a 46% risk of developing CHD and a 31% risk of death due to CHD1. Women hospitalized with myocardial infarction (MI) have a mortality rate twice that of men. The high risk of death emphasizes the need for better understanding of heart disease in women. Only 50% of cases are related to predictable risk factors, suggesting the need for a different approach to risk factors in women. Despite the fact that CHD incidence increases at the time of the menopause, the change is gradual rather than abrupt.
