FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 16, 2010

Contact:

Lisa Clough

202.464.8734

lclough@womenheart.org

Hilda Bustos

202.464.8738

hbustos@womenheart.org

Women heart patients raise their voices to improve women's heart health

Washington, DC – Health care reform may be signed into law, but for the 42 million women living with or at risk for  heart disease -- the leading cause of death in women -- the fight continues to improve health care policy that will significantly impact the morbidity and mortality of women with cardiovascular disease.

This week members of Congress will hear from a group of special constituents – all women living with heart disease who have personally experienced the challenges of the health care system and who have travelled to Washington for the annual Advocacy Institute, hosted by WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease. Through the Advocacy Institute training program, 50WomenHeart Champions – all heart disease survivors who are trained as volunteer community educators and advocates on women's heart health issues – will encourage their representatives to sign on or continue to support the HEART for Women Act H.R. 1032/S. 422 which:

• Authorize grants to educate health care professionals and older women about cardiovascular disease in women
• Require the FDA to enforce the regulation that clinical data reports be stratified by gender, age and racial subgroup Authorize grants to educate health care professionals and older women about cardiovascular disease in women
• Expand the WISEWOMAN program, which provides heart disease and stroke prevention screening to low-income women in 20 states, to all fifty states.

"Our message is that heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States, and that Congress can do something about it," said Lisa M. Tate, Chief Executive Officer of WomenHeart. "While health care reform includes some provisions that help women living with heart disease, there is still much to be done." "These women who are suffering with this chronic and life-threatening illness are here to continue their mission of making a difference in lives of all women and women's heart health policies," Tate continued.

The Advocacy Institute is held May 16-18 and includes a day on Capitol Hill where WomenHeart Champions will meet with members of their Congressional delegation to advocate for gender equity in health care and better overall health care policy for women.

WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease

WomenHeart is the nation's only patient advocacy organization serving the 42 million American women living with or at risk for heart disease – the number one killer of women.  WomenHeart is solely devoted to advancing women's heart health through advocacy, community education, and the nation's only patient support network for women living with heart disease.  WomenHeart is both a coalition and a community of thousands of members nationwide, including women heart patients and their families, physicians, and health advocates, all committed to helping women live longer, healthier lives. WomenHeart encourage all women to take charge of their heart health and get a free women's heart health action kit at www.womenheart.org/kit.

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