Gender differences in anticoagulation and antithrombotic therapy.

Cardiovascular disease is the main cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. The rate of thromboembolic events has increased in women but not in men. Large clinical studies support the use of a variety of antithrombotic drugs for the treatment of patients with different cardiovascular diseases. The heterogeneous patient population included in these trials affects the attempt to generalize the study results to subgroups, which are not sufficiently represented in the study population, such as women and other minorities. Gender-related differences in the clinical presentation and outcome seem to relate to differences in platelet biology and coagulation reactions, resulting in different rates of thromboembolic and bleeding events. The effectiveness of antithrombotic therapies and the occurrence of adverse events define the clinical benefit of the treatment for each patient. This chapter gives an overview of the currently available data on gender-differences in anticoagulation and antithrombotic therapy.