Is coronary artery disease different in women?

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the primary cause of death in women. Although acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is relatively infrequent in young women, failure to recognize ACS in this population can incur a major risk and registry data show that there is still plenty of room for improvement in this area. Women may suffer from ``classical'' CAD with development of atherosclerosis with a delay of about 10 years as compared to men, reflecting hormonal protection in women. Besides this classical presentation, angina in women often corresponds to impaired micro circulation, a syndrome known to associate typical angina, demonstrable myocardial ischemia, but no lesions on the coronary angiography. Finally, spasm, spontaneous dissection or coronary thrombosis through endothelial rupture are more frequent in women. The influence of risk factors on the development of CAD is comparable in both women and men. Recent registry studies show that in France, in particular, diabetes, obesity, and smoking are all risk factors that are on the rise in women. In addition, certain other risk factors are more specific to women, namely psycho-social stress. The methods to evaluate risk and detect CAD were mainly developed in male study populations, and these tools thus perform less well in female patients. In case of ACS, women benefit just as much from invasive management, but are at greater risk of iatrogenic complications, particularly with anti-thrombotic therapy or during revascularization procedures.