The Gender Heart Gap

The LA Times has a piece today about the differences between men and women when it comes to heart disease -- it's something everyone who has a family or personal history with a heart condition should read:
Cardiovascular disease kills more Americans, men and women, of all ethnicities than any other cause. Each year since 1984, more women (432,709 in 2006) have died of cardiovascular disease which includes not just heart disease and heart attacks but also stroke and heart failure than men (398,563 in 2006). But more men experience and die of coronary heart disease and heart attacks than do women each year. Men develop heart disease on average 10 years earlier than women. But women who have a heart attack seem to fare worse right after the event and also suffer a poorer quality of life.
Figuring out what underlies these gender differences has become a priority among cardiology researchers. If they succeed, doctors could predict, diagnose and treat all varieties of heart disease more effectively.
The article goes into the nitty gritty of various gender differences that arise around heart disease, like who gets therapy and who doesn't, who gets symptoms, etc. Make sure to check it out.