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James L. Holly, M.D. |
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James L. Holly,M.D. |
March 01, 2005 |
Cardiology Review March 2005, Vol 22 No 3 |
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- Women are less likely than men o have obstructive CAD.
- Triple-vessel disease is more common in men.
- Single vessel or non-obstructive disease is more common in women.
- This has resulted in less diagnostic accuracy and higher false-positive rates for women.
- Coronary Artery Disease usually appears 10-15 years later in women than in men.
- Stress echocardiography and/or nuclear cardiography (myocardial perfusion imaging) are as accurate in women as men.
- Abnormal studies from number 6, should advance a women to aggressive therapy and catherization if recommended.
- Diabetes and CAD in women:
- Diabetes wreaks havoc on he cardiovascular system.
- Decreased pain perception can mask the symptoms of CAD in diabetic women.
- Diabetic women merit special consideration as they have a risk of CV death that is up to eightfold higher than nondiabetic women.
- Diabetes is a cardiovascular risk equivalent.
- Carotid intima medial thickness should be utilized to look for sub clinical CAD.
- Summary
- Exercise treadmill ECG is the first step for women who can exercise and stay on the treadmill for more than 7 minutes and whose resting ECK is normal.
- Cardiac imaging for women with diabetes or those with decreased functional capacity, using stress echocardiography or stress nuclear cardiography to decide who should proceed to catherization.
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