February Conference Targets Leading Cause of Death in Women
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 29, 2010
Contacts: Lisa Clough WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease 202.464.8734
Meghan Washburn Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare 901.461.7175
First-time event focuses health care community on women and heart disease
Washington, DC – In an effort to combat the leading cause of death in women, the health care community from Tennessee and the Southeast Region will convene for the areas' first-ever health care education program on women's cardiac care, Saturday, February 27, at the Westin Memphis Beale Street, in Memphis. "Fighting the Cardiovascular Epidemic in Women" is organized by WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease and Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare of Memphis.
Each year since 1984 more women than men have died from heart disease, and in Tennessee more women per 100,000 die each year from heart disease than the national average – 492 v. 438 -- according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2000). The state ranks fourth nationally for women's death from cardiovascular disease.
"Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women in both the United States and Tennessee," said Lisa M. Tate, Chief Execute Officer of WomenHeart. "This program features the nations' leading authorities on the issue and will provide physicians and other health care providers the latest innovations to effectively diagnose and treat women's heart disease."
The conference is the brainchild of Kathy Kastan, a Memphis resident and past president of WomenHeart who is a nationally recognized patient advocate and has written and spoken extensively on her experience as a survivor of heart disease.
"I went through a 2-year heart health crisis beginning with my heart bypass surgery when I was 42," says Ms. Kastan. "WomenHeart referred me to a third cardiologist who specialized in the needs of women heart patients and I got my life back. Heart disease is more fatal in women and less well-understood. I want to expand our reach as an organization to close that gap in knowledge and change those terrible statistics."
As program coordinator for the Memphis conference, Ms. Kastan will speak at the cardiac conference on "A Patient's Perspective on Cardiovascular Disease". In addition, Ms. Kastan is being honored in New York on February 10 at the Woman's Day Red Dress Awards and is the first patient advocate to be honored with the award.
The nationally-recognized speakers at the event include Sharonne N. Hayes, M.D., director of Mayo Clinic's Women's Heart Clinic; C. Noel Bairey Merz, M.D., director of the Women's Heart Center, Cedar-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles; and Jennifer Mieres, M.D., director of Nuclear Cardiology at New York University and author of "Heart Smart for Black Women and Latinas".
In order to help women receive the care they need to live heart healthy lives, WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease, presenting sponsor Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, together with The University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center are teaming up to offer this first-of-its-kind program to educate physicians and health care providers about the significance of this devastating medical condition, the leading cause of death in women. Health care providers can learn more about the conference and register here.
Advance interviews can be arranged with any of the conference speakers by contacting either of the contacts listed above.
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 leading cause of death in women. WomenHeart is solely devoted to advancing women's heart health through advocacy, community education, and the nations' 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. For more information, visit www.womenheart.org.
Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare A not-for-profit, faith-based healthcare system, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare is one of the largest private hospitals in the country. Licensed as one hospital, our system has 1,689 beds and more than 60,000 inpatient admissions. With 10,000 Associates, Methodist is proud to be the second largest private employer in Memphis.
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