Gender-specific aspects of cardiovascular disease.

When William Heberden gave his classic description of angina pectoris in 1768, he inadvertently described a gender-specific difference in heart disease when he noted the predominance of men with this condition. It is only in the last few decades that the medical profession has recognized that women are equally afflicted with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, albeit with some differences in presentation, risk factors and outcomes. This article will detail the ways in which men and women differ when it comes to the number one killer in the developed, and increasingly the developing, world.