Coronary disease is the leading cause of death in women, responsible for 2-4 times more deaths than breast cancer. The clinical picture of coronary heart disease in women is often different than that in men, evidence of a particular pathophysiology: it is most often identified when acute, as non-ST-elevated acute coronary syndrome, and involves a higher frequency than among men of normal coronary arteries, microvascular damage, and endothelial dysfunction. The risk factors for woman are also distinctive: a higher risk profile, older age, and higher frequency of lack of exercise and its consequences (abdominal obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes). Smoking is a major risk factor in young women. Stress tests are less useful for diagnosis in women than in men, essentially because of the higher rate of false positives. On the other hand, the diagnostic value of myocardial scintigraphy and stress ultrasound testing differs little from that in men. Coronary revascularization by angioplasty or bypass classically yields poorer results in women than men, probably because of their smaller arteries. These differences are nonetheless fading as techniques improve. The impact of active stents in women remains to be determined. The prognosis of myocardial infarction in women remains poorer than in men, but appropriate and early management, especially by angioplasty, seems to be smoothing out this difference in recent studies. Women on the whole receive less good treatment than men (delayed management and less frequent drug and interventional treatment), which contributes to their poorer prognosis. Simple means of prevention have proved effective in women: regular physical activity thus reduces the risk of infarction by 50% (and also reduces the incidence of diabetes); the effect of aspirin as primary prevention remains controversial.
Copyright 2010. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.