Coronary Heart Disease: Risk Factors

Transcript

Men are at risk after the age of 45 and women are at risk after the age of 55. In women, the risk starts to catch up after the menopause, when the estrogen levels are lower. The estrogen is deemed to be protective against developing coronary artery disease. The obstructive type is more common in men. The nonobstructive kind is more common in women. The nonobstructive kind is more difficult to diagnose, and this is why in women, we often have a delay in diagnosis, given that they have more likely a nonobstructive type of atherosclerosis. It’s important to note that both the obstructive and the nonobstructive kind are equally susceptible to a heart attack.