Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death for women. Early studies suggested that CHD was more benign in women than in men. These early studies resulted in limited availability of studies of coronary risk prevention and lipid lowering on women. The realization that women are at high risk for CHD events, however, has led to increased data on the benefit of risk prevention and cholesterol lowering in women. Current data support recommendations for aggressive lipid lowering in women with existing CHD, or who are at risk for developing CHD.