Vrouwen en hart- en vaatziekten

- More women die of cardiovascular disease than men; in women, cardiovascular mortality is 1.5 times greater than cancer mortality.

- The pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease has female-specific aspects such as fragile coronary arteries and microvascular ischaemia.

- Women with acute coronary syndromes are more likely to present with atypical symptoms such as dyspnoea, nausea or fatigue.

- With regard to diagnostic tests in women, exercise ECG can be difficult to interpret and a normal coronary angiogram does not exclude coronary heart disease.

- Myocardial perfusion scintigraphy may be considered for high-risk women who are clinically suspected of having coronary heart disease and have a normal or inconclusive exercise ECG and angiogram.

- Women are less likely to be treated according to guidelines than men, and their prognosis after a myocardial infarction or a coronary intervention is worse.

- Female-specific aspects such as gestational hypertension and diabetes allow for early detection and treatment of women at risk for cardiovascular disease.

Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 2006;150:2018-22