The most invasive procedure, coronary angiography, is usually reserved for those with positive results because it involves discomfort and a 0.5 percent risk of MI or stroke during the procedure. 6 Treatment Modification of identified cardiac risk factors is perhaps the most important treatment there is for heart disease. Yet women don't always get the treatment they need. One study of women with heart disease found that less than half of them were being treated for high cholesterol. Of those receiving treatment, only 9 percent were being treated aggressively enough to achieve recommended results.
Women are typically at a more advanced state of heart disease at first diagnosis.
A new study offers evidence that women can do as well as men after cardiac surgery. Improved surgical techniques and greater physician sensitivity to sex differences in heart disease are the primary reasons for these improved results. The last step in treatment of CAD is cardiac rehabilitation. There's substantial evidence to suggest that long-term outcomes and quality of life improve dramatically for both men and women after cardiac rehabilitation. Yet utilization rates of these programs are extremely low, and women are less likely to enroll than men.