The importance of gender differences in the diagnosis and management of cardiovascular disease.

For many years, the majority of the observational and epidemiological studies assessing coronary artery disease patients, national and international clinical guidelines, registries and randomized trials have focused almost exclusively on men whereas women were usually excluded in most series. This underrepresentation of women in the medical literature in this field has resulted in few data being available regarding the clinical course of the condition, its management and clinical outcomes in this specific population, despite the relatively high prevalence of ischemic heart disease in women. The situation has changed -at least partially- in the past few years with publications focusing on this issue and reporting the existence of inequalities between genders regarding the diagnosis and treatment of coronary heart disease. This article will briefly review gender differences in the clinical presentation, diagnostic strategies and prognosis of coronary heart disease.