A woman's heart. An update of coronary artery disease risk in women.

Coronary artery disease accounts for a third of all deaths in women. Traditionally, studies on this disease have been conducted with male subjects. A growing body of evidence indicates that oral contraceptive and postmenopausal estrogen use present risk factors for the disease that are unique to women. In addition, sex differences exist with regard to the relationship of most of these risk factors to the development of the disease. An understanding of these differences has an important role in expanding the management of coronary artery disease risk reduction for women and in defining directions for future research.