Are there sex differences in atheroma burden and endothelial function in patients with early coronary atherosclerosis?
Men with early atherosclerosis exhibit more severe structural and functional abnormalities in epicardial coronary arteries compared to women, potentially explaining their higher incidence of CAD and STEMI.
Men have greater atheroma burden, more eccentric atheroma, and more diffuse epicardial endothelial dysfunction than women. These results suggest that men have more severe structural and functional abnormalities in epicardial coronary arteries than women, even in patients with early atherosclerosis, which may result in the higher incidence rates of CAD and ST-segment myocardial infarction in men than women.
Han et al. (Fri,) studied this question.