Risk factors for coronary artery disease in Egyptian women.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a major public health problem both in developed and in developing countries. The disease is considered multifactorial and many predisposing risk factors responsible for this disease. The present study was performed to determine the prevalence of CAD risk factors among Egyptian women at Damietta governorate. The study was based on investigation of 113 randomly chosen women who had CAD. Demographic data, risk factors were determined by taking history, physical examination and laboratory tests. The results indicated that the age of the patients ranged from 24 to 82 years with a mean of 55.95±11.04 years. The mean total cholesterol, LDL and HDL were 233, 150, 150 respectively. The blood sugar ranged from 75 to 488.

Risk factors analysis revealed a significant higher prevalence of obesity and overweight (96.46%), hypertension (83.19%), total cholesterol (70.80%), physical inactivity (70.8%), stress (69.03%), diabetes mellitus (57.52%) and family history of CAD (46.9%). This study provides useful information about the health characteristics of the Egyptian women at Damietta governorate and indicates that the development of health education programs and early chick-up is necessary to prevent the risk factors of this disease.