Women and heart disease: same disease, different issues.

The incidence of coronary artery disease (CAD) has rapidly increased within the female population. Since CAD is the number one cause of death in women, it is important for women to be able to recognize both non-modifiable risk factors (family history, age and race) and modifiable risk factors (smoking, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, hypertension, sedentary life style, weight control and stress). With this knowledge, every women would be able to control modifiable risk factors. The objective of this paper is to review the current literature and to extract key issues regarding risk factor management.