Women benefit as much as men from therapies used to prevent coronary artery disease, even though women tend to have higher cholesterol and other factors that lead to clogged arteries, according to investigators at the Cleveland Clinic.

Relatively little is known about how coronary disease develops in women, and how it compares with that in men, Dr. Stephen J. Nicholls and his associates write in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

That prompted Nicholls and his team to analyze data from two trials that used ultrasound images taken from within coronary arteries to look at the build up or removal of plaque deposits there.

The trials included 251 female subjects and 727 male subjects, aged 30 to 70 years old, all of whom had at least one clogged coronary artery.

On average, compared to men, women were heavier for their height, had higher blood pressure, and more indication of generalized inflammation which is linked to coronary disease. They also had significantly higher levels of cholesterol and triglycerides.

Despite these risk factors, women had less plaque in their coronary arteries than men.

Moreover, once they were treated with standard heart medications like statins, beta-blockers, aspirin and ACE inhibitors, men and women showed similar improvements in plaque burden, as well as blood pressure and levels of LDL cholesterol.

The investigators say the results “add further support for the promotion of aggressive preventive measures” in women, to prevent illness from cardiovascular disease.

SOURCE: Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2007.