Menopause, atherosclerosis, and coronary artery disease

► Only total and LDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein B changed within one year of the last menstrual period. ► Increasing importance of testosterone instead of estrogen to explain harmful effect of oophorectomy on cardiovascular risk. ► In adjusted analyses incident AF did not differ between early menopausal (<45 years) versus late menopausal (>53 years) age. ► Methodologically challenging but critical to separate out the influences of chronologic aging and menopause.