Risk, Diagnosis and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease in Women

Date of Online Release: June 24, 2011
Date of Original Presentation: 
     September 11, 2010
Credits: 3.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™

Heart and vascular diseases are the greatest threat to women's health worldwide and most American women are unaware of their risk. An estimated 41 million American women live with these diseases and, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Texas has the third highest prevalence of women with heart disease, with over 600,000 women affected in 2004. Also known as cardiovascular diseases (CVD), they include heart attack, heart failure, strokes, peripheral artery disease and other diseases of the heart and circulatory system.  

These diseases affect more women than men and are responsible for more than 40% of all deaths in American women. Many women who have a heart attack do not know it since they are not aware that symptoms in a woman are different than what are widely known as "heart attack symptoms" that apply to men. Heart attacks are generally more severe in women than men. Women can expect to live a large part of their lives with an increased risk of heart disease; and, 1 out of 4 women older than 65 has some form of heart disease. 

What's more, a 2005 survey by the American Heart Association showed that only 8% of primary care physicians and 17% of cardiologists know about these gender differences.

Since treatment during or immediately following a heart attack significantly mitigates the resulting long term damage, accurately identifying symptoms in women is critical to the lifetime wellness of women. So too is identifying treatments that are most effective for women. While effective treatments are not understood, we do know that women have 50% more adverse drug reactions than men. Additionally, the trajectory of women's heart disease is distinct from that of men.  Plaque builds up differently in women's arteries in a way that typical testing does not detect, and menopause significantly increases a woman's risk. Finally, little study has gone into effective prevention strategies for women. Treatment guidelines are developed from the medical literature, dictating the standard of care for all patients. However, less than 25% of those enrolled in the trials are women. Clearly it is time for a focused education and research effort to elucidate diagnosis, treatment and prevention of heart disease in women.

Educational Objectives
The intended result of this activity is increased knowledge. At the conclusion of this symposium, participants should be able to

• Cite the identification of cardiac risk factors in women;
• Assess standard and specific lipid laboratory panels;
• Review current guidelines for treatment of various dyslipidemias;
• Make an overall cardiovascular risk stratification of female patients that will be use to guide preventive treatment strategies.

Target Audience
The intended audience for this continuing medical education activity includes cardiologists, gynecologists, primary care physicians, internal medicine physicians, family practitioners, endocrinologists and nurse practitioners.

Method of Instruction / Participation
This online enduring material comprises slide sets with text and audio derived from a live symposium with post activity assessment and evaluation.

Evaluation / Feedback
We value your feedback; please send your suggestions and comments to the Office of Continuing Medical Education at Texas Heart Institute, cme@heart.thi.tmc.edu.