BOSTON, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- A new U.S. study suggests many women with heart disease have the kind that doesn't show up on the usual diagnostic tests.
The Women's Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation study suggested that, while most men with heart trouble seem to have a blockage in a large coronary artery -- a problem that shows up on an angiogram -- women are more likely to have microvessel disease that can't be picked up through such diagnostic screening.
The WISE study confirmed earlier findings that, among patients who show signs of trouble on stress tests, women are far more likely than men to appear free of blockages on follow-up angiograms.
However, more advanced tests like ultrasound of the blood vessels picked up heart problems in women that the angiograms missed.
For example, in many of the female heart patients, a condition called vascular dysfunction was seen, in which the blood vessels supplying the heart don't expand properly to accommodate increased blood flow.
Vascular dysfunction can affect not only the large coronary arteries, but also smaller vessels, where the condition is known as microvessel disease.
The WISE researchers say they are working to develop a new system for diagnosing heart disease in women.
Results of the study appear in the February 2007 issue of Harvard Women's Health Watch.
