Dr Lackey's Health Information

Timely Medical reports regarding your health and Disease Prevention.

Cardiovascular disease (including CAD) kills nearly 500,000 American women each year, a figure exceeding total deaths among women for all other diseases combined. (Fig. 1) These numbers are likely to increase in magnitude as the population ages. By the year 2000, it is estimated that 37% of the women in the US will be approaching menopause -- that is, 45 years old or older in the next century. Furthermore, after menopause, rates of mortality due to CAD nearly equal those of men. (Fig. 2)

Figure 1. (click image to zoom) Coronary vascular disease kills more women than men, surpassing cancer, trauma, COPD, and pneumonia as a cause of death. Data from the National Center for Health Statistics, 1992.

Coronary artery disease kills more women than all cancers combined, yet the clinical picture in women is different enough from men that the diagnosis can be missed or delayed. (See below)

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the leading killer of women in the US. After menopause, mortality rates from CAD in women nearly equal those of men. Women are 10 years older than men, on average, when presenting with CAD.

Differences in symptomatology between men and women are important to note. For example, other diseases, such as arthritis or osteoporosis, can obscure CAD symptoms. Further, compared with men, women's chest pain is more often associated with abdominal pain, dyspnea, nausea, and fatigue. More women than men with CAD have diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and a family history of CAD.