Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common cause of death in the Unit
ed States. It is responsible for the deaths of 480,000 people annually. Hal
f of these fatalities are in women. More women die of CAD than due to all c
ancers combined. The clinical presentation of women with CAD can be very su
btle, 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 triglycerid
es and low HDL cholesterol levels. Although estrogen replacement therapy ha
s 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.