We’ve Joined The Fight Against The No. 1 Killer Of Women
Faith Regional CardioVascular Institute (CVI) is part of a growing number of health care organizations nationwide that are focusing on women’s No. 1 health problem: cardiovascular disease.
Through the Women and Heart Disease program, CVI can:
- Help educate women and physicians about early warning signs and special treatment for women with heart disease.
- Offer heart-health screenings to women.
- Give CVI a higher profile in the community.
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CardioVascular Institute Links
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Heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death among women
in the United States, striking more women than the next
seven causes of death combined. But less than a third
of women are aware of this. By encouraging women to learn
the early warning signs of heart disease and talk to their
physicians, many lives will be saved.
Dr. Tom Brandt, a cardiologist at the Faith Regional CardioVascular Institute, says that while symptoms
of heart disease are similar for men and women, there
are important differences as well. “We tend to think
of heart disease as a man’s disease, and focus on
those classic male symptoms,” says Dr. Brandt. “But
women can have other symptoms as well, and we in the medical
community must learn to pay more attention to those.”
Dr. Brandt says it’s important to watch for these
classic symptoms compiled by the American Heart Association:
- Squeezing chest pain or pressure, tightness in
chest or recurring chest discomfort
- Shortness of breath
- Sweating
- Pain spreading to shoulders, neck or arms more likely in women
- Indigestion or gas-like pain
- Dizziness, nausea or vomiting
- Unexplained weakness, fatigue
- Discomfort or pain between the shoulder blades
- Sense of impending doom
If you or anyone you know has experienced any of these,
notify your physician immediately.
“We need to close the gap in how men and women are
screened and treated for heart disease,” says Dr.
Cynthia Ferris, anesthesiologist and Women’s HeartAdvantage
Physician Champion. “This program is a big step
in that direction.”
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