The Women's Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation (WISE) was a four center study designed to evaluate ischemic heart disease and its pathophysiology in women. WISE testing focused on three areas: 1) optimizing symptom evaluation and diagnostic testing for ischemic heart disease; 2) exploring mechanisms for symptoms and evidence of myocardial ischemia in the absence of epicardial coronary artery disease; 3) evaluating the influence of reproductive hormones on symptoms and diagnostic test response. The WISE core data base included demographic and clinical data, symptom and psychosocial variables, coronary angiography and ventriculography data, blood lipoprotein/homocysteine/lipid peroxidation/genetic/hormone/ phytoestrogen analysis, brachial artery reactivity testing, and resting/ambulatory electrocardiographic (ECG) monitoring. Site specific complementary methods included physiologic and functional cardiovascular assessments of myocardial perfusion and metabolism, ventriculography, endothelial vascular function and coronary angiography. Women were followed for at least one year to assess clinical events and symptom status. In the Phase I (1996-7), a pilot phase, 256 women were studied. Phase II has completed enrolling 1008 women in the study. The WISE study defined contemporary and comprehensive state-of-the-art diagnostic testing to evaluate women with suspected ischemic heart disease, and explore sex specific ischemic heart disease pathophysiology.