Women's heart program empowers women to take charge of health
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States, with 90% of women having at least one risk factor for heart disease. Women have unique factors that contribute to their heart health. Pregnancy, menopause and the day-to-day juggling of work and family can all take a toll on your heart, especially if you have experienced conditions such as preeclampsia or gestational diabetes. Many other health conditions, such as lupus, other inflammatory diseases and anxiety and depression, which generally affect more women than men, significantly impact your risk of heart disease as well.
Piedmont Heart Institute’s Women’s Heart Program, which began in 2013, was created to address the unique cardiovascular needs of women, recognizing that these needs are frequently overlooked and under-assessed. Since its inception, Piedmont’s Women’s Heart Program has grown to care for more than 12,000 patients across Georgia.
Piedmont Heart takes a three-pronged approach to reducing women's heart disease, including a customized screening to identify risks, best-practice medical care to treat disease, and holistic wellness education and support to improve quality of life.
Piedmont offers a $99 heart screening program to assess women without heart disease symptoms (also called asymptomatic) to identify early risk factors that may help identify coronary artery disease. Identification helps the cardiac team create a customized medical and lifestyle plan much earlier to improve long-term outcomes. In response to requests, Piedmont also introduced a new program for women with recent heart attacks to improve education and support about the disease process and risk factors.
Tina Varghese, MD, medical director of the Women’s Heart program, says the purpose of this program is to help promote and increase awareness of cardiovascular disease in women.
“The signs for heart disease in women can be different and are often misunderstood. Women are often the caregivers for others, and we neglect taking care of ourselves. We want to offer women the care we know they need,” Dr. Varghese said. “We are empowering women to take charge of their heart health so that they will live longer, healthier, fuller lives.”
Heart disease and stroke cause 1-in-3 deaths among women each year, according to the American Heart Association, and remains the No. 1 cause of death among women in the United States and Georgia.
“Our goal is to help improve early detection and, in some cases, stop heart disease before it’s too late,” said Dr. Varghese. “Many communities are underserved because they are unaware of the symptoms, especially in women. At Piedmont Heart, we’re determined to make sure women do not become a statistic. Access to this screening allows women to make more informed decisions about their heart health and understand preventive care.”
In addition to the screening program, the Women’s Heart Program also includes a Support Network. Piedmont Heart cardiologists understand that women need a more holistic approach to cardiovascular care: one that supports women’s heart health beyond the relatively brief time a patient spends with her cardiologist.
The Piedmont Women’s Heart program is a holistic wellness program that aims to prevent the onset and support those with cardiovascular disease through high-caliber education and wellness coaching.
Eighty percent of all cardiac events can be prevented by lifestyle changes and education. The goal of Piedmont’s Women’s Heart Program is to help women connect with health professionals and make the changes in their lives to prevent heart disease.
“Since the launch of this program, thousands of women across Metro Atlanta have learned how to adopt healthier lifestyles and care for themselves as they care for others,” said Avril James, Women’s Heart program coordinator. “Heart disease is still the number one killer of women, and support from this program is vital.”
For more than 10 years, the Women’s Heart Support Network has provided female heart disease survivors with tailored education, connections with others and community resources to help meet their needs as they learn to prevent or manage heart disease.
The Women’s Heart Program offers free weekly and monthly programs for the community, in addition to a robust schedule of online classes. Established by a generous gift from the J.B. Fuqua Foundation, the programs and support provided through the Women’s Heart Support Network are made possible by the generosity of our donors.
“This is a completely free program, funded entirely by our generous donors,” said James. “It’s important to remove any barriers and meet women where they are so they can focus on their wellness.”
The program focuses on three key concepts: nourish, flourish, and thrive, which means proper nutrition and diet, mind and body wellness, and purposeful movement. These concepts form the basis of programs and classes each month.
“A study published in the American Journal of Cardiology stated that 25% of women are embarrassed to seek treatment for cardiovascular disease because they feel they will be chided for behavior-related risk factors,” said James. “Our goal is to get women of all ages thinking about what they can do to positively impact their heart health and to start taking action immediately.”
To learn more or to sign up to take the women’s heart screenings or the support network, visit piedmont.org/heart.
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