Chronic Coronary Syndromes in Women: Challenges in Diagnosis and Management

Sex matters in science. This particularly applies to ischemic heart disease, which displays key differences in pathophysiology, presentation, and effectiveness in diagnostic strategies and management between women and men. However, underrepresentation of women in randomized trials has led to an evidence gap in clinical practice. Nevertheless, it has become clear that women present with a higher burden of symptoms and comorbidities, experience worse outcomes, but are less likely to have flow-limiting stenosis in epicardial coronary arteries than men. A major contributor to this paradox is coronary microvascular disease, a heterogeneous disorder with multifactorial etiology that predominantly affects women. There is a significant interplay between coronary microvascular disease, obstructive coronary artery disease, and the cardiovascular risk associated with it, with impaired vasomotor function often preceding the development of advanced atheroma. This novel concept has recently been referred to as chronic coronary syndromes, which better meets the female phenotype of ischemic heart disease, questioning current management recommendations that still largely apply to flow-limiting stenoses in epicardial coronary arteries typically found in men. The goal of this review is to highlight the most recent scientific advances in understanding chronic coronary syndromes in women. It provides practical advice with focus on challenges in diagnosis and management, and discusses perspectives towards the implementation of sex-specific, safer, and more effective therapeutic strategies.