Researchers at the recent annual meeting of the American Society of Echocardiography report that taking ultrasound images of the heart during a stress test, a procedure called stress echocardiography, is a better way to identify women at highest risk for coronary artery disease than by traditional stress tests and clinical risk factors. Women experience classic symptoms of heart attack--sweating, chest or pain--less often than arm men, making it more difficult to diagnose blockages in their heart arteries.

"Our study shows that stress echocardiography can stratify women at the highest risk of coronary artery disease to those that are at risk of having a heart attack or cardiac death. This allows women to receive more focused told appropriate treatment that is customized to their specific risk level and outcomes," said Dr. Farooq Chaudhry, director of echocardiography and associate chief of cardiology, St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City.

Women are 30 times more likely to die of coronary, artery disease than breast cancer.