Preventing clinically evident coronary heart disease in the postmenopausal woman.

OBJECTIVE: This review summarizes data on the prevalent coronary heart disease risk factors of postmenopausal women and the pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic therapies available for preventing or treating them.

DESIGN: Medline searches from 1966 on were used to identify manuscripts for coronary heart disease risk factor information, lipid levels as predictors of cardiovascular disease in women, non-pharmacologic therapies, side effects of statins, and lipid-lowering trials that included women and had myocardial infarction or coronary heart disease death as endpoints.

RESULTS: Dyslipidemias that occur with menopause are particularly atherogenic and tend to cluster with other metabolic and nonmetabolic risk factors. Estrogen therapy, with or without progestogen, can no longer be recommended for primary or secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women. Statins have been effective in reducing cardiovascular-related morbidity and mortality and should be first-line therapy for lipid-lowering.

CONCLUSIONS: A considerable number of women look to obstetricians-gynecologists for primary care. For postmenopausal women especially, primary care must include management of risk factors for coronary heart disease. Estrogen or estrogen plus progestin should be used only for symptomatic hot flashes and at the lowest dose possible. Statins should be first-line therapy in preventive strategies for lipid-lowering.