Sex differences in heart disease incidence and prevalence: implications for intervention

Women present clinically with coronary disease later in life than men do, and given their increased life expectancy compared to men, represent an increasingly larger proportion of patients with coronary disease. Coronary disease in women results in a large human and financial burden to the healthcare system. Effective prevention measures should integrate the clinical and social features of coronary disease which are specific to women and should be anchored within a comprehensive understanding of the burden of coronary disease in women. While attention has been recently directed at coronary disease in women, there is relatively limited information on the incidence and prevalence of coronary disease in women and how it may have changed over time; few studies include sufficient numbers of women to draw appropriate inference. This paper reviews the epidemiology of coronary disease in women and discusses the implications for intervention.