Case fatality of acute myocardial infarction: an emerging gender gap.

There has been a cardiovascular revolution since the 1970s in many industrialized countries with rapidly declining mortality rates especially for coronary heart disease (CHD). This has been most striking for men. A slower decline in out-of hospital mortality for women below 55 has been demonstrated in Finland. This, and indications of increasing incidence of CHD in the younger segments of the female populations may be pointing at a shift in the incidence and mortality pattern of this disorder. These findings should be taken seriously, reminding us that younger women are not protected against coronary heart disease.