ABSTRACT

The recently published and appropriately entitled Why Men Die First puts it very succinctly. ‘Coronary artery disease looms larger than any other illness on the horizon that threaten men in the prime of their lives. It claims more lives every year than any other in both sexes, but it begins at least a decade earlier in men than women.’1 This short review looks a little more closely at the reasons men succumb to coronary heart disease (CHD) in such large numbers and often comparatively early in their lifespan and at the steps that we might take to prevent heart disease developing in both men and women.