WOMEN are almost as likely to develop coronary heart disease after the age of 65 as men, according to a medical expert.
Dr Susanna Sans, director of the Chronic Diseases Programme at the Institute of Health Studies in Barcelona, told a conference in Dublin yesterday that 42 per cent of those who die from heart disease in the European Union are women.
Dr Sans said the clinical manifestations of coronary heart disease (CHD) appeared on average 10 years later than in men and were slightly different.
There were difficulties in diagnosing heart disease in women as they showed different symptoms. "These differences have led to the belief that heart disease is a more benign disease in women."
Premenopausal women were protected from heart disease by the oestrogen levels which modulate blood fat. "This hormonal protection gradually disappears after menopause.
Women tended to have more acute cases of heart disease and had less chance of surviving bypass surgery, Dr Sans said.