| Popis: |
The predominant perception for many years has been that coronary artery disease is a rare occurrence in women, especially in young women, leading to the view that arteriosclerotic disease of the vascular tree is less important in women overall. Both perceptions are incorrect [1]. Cardiovascular disease across the entire lifetime is slightly more common as a cause of mortality in women than in men. In the middle-age years cardiovascular disease is associated with multiple risk factors, possibly with more in women than one sees with men of the same age having coronary artery disease [1]. Postmenopausal hormone replacement is a very important therapy, but it is not entirely without side effects. There are few prospective, double-blind, randomized studies that securely demonstrate the beneficial effects to the circulation of postmenopausal hormone replacement treatment. There is, however, strong evidence from experimental models of short- as well as long-term benefits from estrogen replacement therapy and circumstantial evidence of the benefits of hormone replacement therapy to the cardiovascular health of women [1]. |
