Authors: Tziomalos, Konstantinos; Kakafika, Anna I.; Athyros, Vasilios G.; Karagiannis, Asterios; Mikhailidis, Dimitri P.

Source: Current Pharmaceutical Design, Volume 15, Number 10, April 2009 , pp. 1054-1062(9)

Publisher: Bentham Science Publishers

Abstract:

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death in the developed world in both men and women. Elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels are strong and independent vascular risk factors in both genders. Statins effectively decrease LDL-C levels, reduce vascular morbidity and mortality and are an essential component of CHD preventive strategies. However, women are less likely to be prescribed statins than men in both primary and secondary prevention settings. It was argued that there is no conclusive evidence showing that statins are beneficial for the prevention of vascular disease in women, particularly in those without established CHD. This review summarizes the evidence regarding the effects of statins in the prevention of CHD in women. Accumulating data suggest that statins are equally effective in both men and women. The lack of significant effects in some studies appears to be primarily due to the under-representation of women and the ensuing lack of statistical power. Current guidelines for the prevention of vascular disease also recommend a similar management of dyslipidemia in both men and women. Therefore, statin treatment should be implemented with the same criteria and with the same goals in both genders.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2174/138161209787846946

Affiliations: 1: Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Royal Free Hospital Campus, University College Medical School, University College London, Pond Street, London NW3 2QG, UK.

Publication date: 2009-04-01

More about this publication?

• Current Pharmaceutical Design publishes timely in-depth reviews covering all aspects of current research in rational drug design. Each issue is devoted to a single major therapeutic area. A Guest Editor who is an acknowledged authority in a therapeutic field has solicits for each issue comprehensive and timely reviews from leading researchers in the pharmaceutical industry and academia.
  
  Each thematic issue of Current Pharmaceutical Design covers all subject areas of major importance to modern drug design, including: medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, drug targets and disease mechanism.

Related content

• In this: publication
• By this: publisher
• In this Subject: Pharmacology
• By this author: Tziomalos, Konstantinos ;  Kakafika, Anna I. ;  Athyros, Vasilios G. ;  Karagiannis, Asterios ;  Mikhailidis, Dimitri P.

Website © Publishing Technology. Article copyright remains with the publisher, society or author(s) as specified within the article.

• Terms and conditions
• Privacy policy
• Information for advertisers