Although breast cancer may be more feared, age-adjusted death rates from CVD in women are four times higher in white women and six times higher in black women than the death rates for breast cancer.
Compared with men, LDL-C is lower and HDL-C is higher in women before menopause. Although women have lower rates of hypertension and cigarette smoking than men, rates of obesity and diabetes are higher.
Hormone therapy is no longer recommended to prevent coronary events in postmenopausal women with or without established coronary heart disease. Although hormone therapy improves LDL-C and HDL-C levels, it also increases coagulation and inflammation (as measured by C-reactive protein) and decreases LDL-C particle size.
Cardioprotective agents, including aspirin, beta-blockers, and ACE inhibitors, appear to have similar efficacy in men and women.
For more on women and cardiovascular risk management, read here.
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Cite this: Yasmine S. Ali. Fast Five Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Cardiovascular Risk Factors? - Medscape - Apr 13, 2018.
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