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Heart care program reaches out to women by Heather Woolwine Public Relations On Feb. 1, MUSC Women’s Heart Care officially committed to the education of women about the risks of heart disease and prevention, early detection, and treatment of heart disease in women. The American Heart Association (AHA) also claims this month for heart disease awareness.   In addition to supporting the AHA’s Go Red For Women campaign and awareness movement, the founders of the MUSC Women’s Heart Care program seek to bring information and care to a population not often thought of when it comes to heart disease. Clinical services are located on the MUSC campus, with the eventual opening of a clinic in West Ashley.   “In advertisements, it’s usually, if not always, a man, playing tennis or walking along, and he suffers a major heart attack,” said Marian Taylor, M.D., Women’s Heart Care. “People just don’t think about women having heart disease. The research has been focused primarily on men, and we know more about how heart disease affects men in the clinical setting.”   Not that there is some huge conspiracy out there barring women from heart disease awareness, but women have indeed been left out of the loop. Much of this can be attributed to a difference in symptoms for women having a heart attack and the complexities involved in studying women of age for heart disease. Because women tend to live longer than men, the onset of heart disease in women begins a little later in life, around 60. By nature, we humans seem to pay more attention to diseases that affect us earlier in age.   Research conducted here by Michael Zile, M.D., Cardiology, suggests that women’s vascular biology and heart muscle biology is in fact different from men’s, and that may be cause for some of the gender difference in heart disease.   “When studying heart disease in women, the changing hormonal status can make research much more difficult,” said Pamela B. Morris, M.D., Women’s Heart Care. “Female hormones, both endogenous (naturally produced by the body) and exogenous (post-menopausal therapy and oral contraceptives) have important effects on the heart and vascular system. It’s just been easier to do research with men. At MUSC’s Women’s Heart Care, we are taking a step in the right direction by providing a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary gender-specific approach to prevention, early detection and management of heart disease in women.”   Morris also said research shows that women are under-diagnosed and under-treated for heart disease. Physicians are more likely to request diagnostics tests for men with possible symptoms of heart disease than for women with similar symptoms. Women may also experience more atypical symptoms and therefore might be treated differently because heart disease doesn’t register as a possible cause.   The only two female cardiologists in town, Taylor and Morris, founded Women’s Heart Care to tackle this very important issue that not only has MUSC’s attention, but the nation’s as well. They offer Low country women the choice of seeing a male or female cardiologist, and will work closely in a clinical setting with a mutlidisciplianry team including specialists in endocrinology, gynecology, psychology, nutrition, and exercise physiology. Their goal is to address all aspects of women’s heart health and heart disease management in a clinical setting, as well as within a research construct.    “This program has been designed to be a truly comprehensive way to inform women about the risk factors for heart disease and to help them maintain optimal heart health,” Morris said. “Both physicians and patients have been underestimating women’s risks for heart disease and under-diagnosing heart disease symptoms in women. That’s where we hope MUSC Women’s Heart Care will break new ground.” Know Yourself, Know Your Risk A retired physician, Barbara Cole, M.D., took great care of herself. Unlike many of us, she would stop taking care of and worrying about everyone else long enough to exercise, eat right, and monitor her health.   She had a little bit of a borderline high blood pressure, and a little bit of family history of heart disease. Nothing to worry about, right? That’s what Cole thought. She described how she began to have a little nausea, some dizziness, and maybe even some flu symptoms. After ignoring the symptoms for a few days she finally went to see her physician. She needed a heart bypass and had been undergoing a heart attack.   It’s shocking to know or think of the otherwise healthy people who still must undergo surgery or treatment for heart disease. What’s frightening is what’s in store for those who don’t take as good of care of themselves as Cole.   The key to preventing heart disease is taking care of yourself, and the following are the risk factors associated with heart disease. Age and sex: Woman more than 50 years old. Begin scheduling regular check-ups in your 20s with your family physician to monitor cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and devise a healthy diet and exercise plan to lower unhealthy levels. Begin medication if necessary. Family History: Father or brother had heart attack before age 55, or mother or sister had one before 65, or mother, father, brother, sister or grandparent had a stroke. Know your family history. Heart disease medical history: Had a heart attack, heart disease, or other heart conditions. Stroke history: Had a stroke, have carotid artery disease, leg artery disease, high red blood cell count or sickle cell anemia. Blood Pressure: Around 140/90 mm Hg or higher. Tobacco smoke: You smoke or live with people who smoke. Begin a smoking cessation program and encourage loved ones to do the same. Visit http://hcc.musc.edu/patient/support_services/QuitToWin.cfm or call 792-9192. Total cholesterol: Is 200 mg/dL or higher. HDL cholesterol: less than 40 mg/dL for men, less than 50 mg/dL for women. Physical activity: Less than total of 30 minutes of physical activity on most days. Overweight: You’re 20 pounds overweight for height and build. Diabetes: Have diabetes, or take medicine to control blood sugar. Steps to a healthy heart Move more, eat less. Experts call for at least 30 minutes of physical activity per day. This can be 15 minutes on a walk during a lunch break, a brisk walk with the dog when you get home, and then maybe vacuum the whole house at a brisk pace. Ten minute bursts of activity are just as good for you as 30 continuous minutes when it comes to heart health. Invest in a pedometer. Morris suggests walking 10,000 steps per day. Use the pedometer to track your progress. Don’t smoke or live with a smoker. Implement a healthy diet. Arguably the hardest part of staying healthy, especially in today’s world, a proper diet requires discipline and can be frustrating with the barrage of current nutrition information available today. Work with your physician to devise something that makes sense for you. Morris said to cheat wisely, meaning that when you do cheat, make sure it’s for something important and worth it; like a piece of your favorite birthday cake or a few bites of a decadent dessert while in a new city. Make wise choices from a restaurant menu. If you have the choice between steak and lean chicken, and you’re not a huge steak fan, choose the chicken. You won’t miss it much and the chicken is better for you.     Friday, Feb. 17, 2006 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Papers at 849-1778, ext. 201.