Treatment of hyperlipidemia in women

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common cause of death in the United States. It is responsible for the deaths of 480,000 people annually. Half of these fatalities are in women. More women die of CAD than due to all cancers combined. The clinical presentation of women with CAD can be very subtle, and atypical as compared to men. Furthermore, women also face a worse prognosis than men following surgical therapy for CAD. Hyperlipidemia is a well-known risk factor for CAD in women, particularly elevated triglycerides and low HDL cholesterol levels. Although estrogen replacement therapy has been considered a primary modality to alleviate some cardiovascular risk in post menopausal women, the results of the recently published HERS trial highlight the need for more research in this field.