Women--a neglected risk group for atherosclerosis and vascular disease

Women are a neglected group for cardiovascular disease. Whereas young women tend to have lower incidences of coronary artery disease, stroke and myocardial infarctions than men, the situation changes drastically at menopause, after which women are at greater risk than men. Despite this, women at all ages receive less treatment, less attention and not enough information about health risks. Most risk factors, e.g. hypertension, elevated blood lipid levels, diabetes and changes in oestrogen levels, differ between women and men. As a consequence of this, secondary prevention from coronary artery disease is likely to have different effects in women to those in men. Different kinds of antihypertensive therapy, hormone-replacement therapy and lipid-lowering treatment may be more or less suitable in women than in men. The recent development of angiotensin-receptor blockers may have beneficial effects which make them particularly effective in women.