Coronary artery disease--ignored in women or inherently more lethal in women?

The leading cause of death in women is cardiovascular disease. The major cardiovascular risk factors have a greater impact on women. The prognosis for women with CAD is worse than for men. Women frequently present with symptoms of heart disease at a much later age and have a greater frequency of atypical chest pain. Noninvasive testing is less reliable in women. Do these facts indicate that CAD is inherently a more lethal disease in women? Or is CAD, as some would suggest, traditionally ignored in women? Stay tuned!