Dyslipidemia, gender, and the role of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol: implications for therapy.

Cardiovascular disease, which kills more US women than all cancers combined, may pose an even greater risk for women than for men. For example, the risk factors, testing modalities, presenting symptoms and the therapeutic choices made for women with coronary artery disease are significantly different from those for men. Low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), 45 mg/dL) in women. This is not yet reflected in clinical guidelines. Diabetes is particularly hazardous in women, and low HDL-C levels constitute a disproportionate risk for coronary artery disease in diabetic women compared with diabetic men. Regrettably, although lipid-lowering drugs have been shown to be effective in women, they are more rarely prescribed for women than for men.