When you hear the words “heart disease,” you might not picture a woman like Susan, who is intuitive, driven, and vigilant. Or Jacqueline, who is compassionate and brave, her own diagnosis hidden for decades. Or Denise, who is persistent, trusting her instincts when no one else would.
However, these women, all Champions trained by WomenHeart, are the faces of heart disease in America. Their stories represent millions more who have faced similar dismissals, misdiagnoses, and challenges. Thanks to your support, they are now transforming personal hardship into nationwide impact.
Susan: From Diagnosis to Community Leader
Susan Bodiker felt something was off. There was a deep, unsettling heat in her chest. She described it as a “blast furnace.” Her instincts were right: testing revealed a 90% blockage in her right coronary artery. Her doctor told her plainly, “If you hadn’t been so alert to your symptoms, the outcome could’ve been very different.”
After receiving a stent, Susan began searching for meaning in her experience. She found it in WomenHeart. Through virtual support groups, she connected with women who understood her journey. With their encouragement, she became a WomenHeart Champion and began co-leading a group herself. Today, Susan empowers others to speak up, ask questions, and advocate for themselves in medical settings, because she knows what it’s like not to be heard.
Jacqueline: Five Decades of Misdiagnosis
Jacqueline’s story is staggering. For nearly 50 years, she experienced symptoms of a congenital heart condition without receiving a proper diagnosis. Doctors told her she was fine. That it was in her head. That she was imagining things.
It wasn’t until she rushed her husband to the ER with heart attack symptoms, and recognized those same symptoms in herself, that she finally received the diagnosis she had been denied for most of her life.
Instead of dwelling on that injustice, Jacqueline chose advocacy. She trained with WomenHeart to become a Champion, using her voice to raise awareness about diagnostic disparities and the importance of trusting your own body. Her story is a call to action for patients, providers, and the system at large.
Denise: A Life Saved by Persistence
For six years, Denise Dunager lived with symptoms she knew weren’t normal: rapid heart rate, fatigue, and a looming sense that something was wrong. Doctors repeatedly dismissed her. “It’s just anxiety,” they said. “You’re getting older.”
Denise’s family history of heart disease weighed heavily on her. She pushed for further testing, and an angiogram finally revealed the truth: she had a 98% blockage in her main artery. Her doctor told her she was a “ticking time bomb.”
After recovering, Denise found WomenHeart and, like Susan and Jacqueline, became a Champion. She now uses her voice to make sure other women are heard the first time.
The Power of the Champion Network
WomenHeart Champions are trained peer leaders; women living with heart disease who go on to support others. They run support groups, speak at conferences, distribute educational materials, and advocate for change. They are the heart of the WomenHeart movement, and they all exist because of you.
Your support funds:
- Training programs for new Champions
- Virtual and in-person support group infrastructure
- Distribution of Red Bags of Courage; resource kits for newly diagnosed women
- Educational webinars, HeartTalks, and provider training
- Campaigns like Beats of Change that bring women’s stories to a global audience
Impact at Scale
Every year, WomenHeart reaches tens of thousands of women. Through Champions like Susan, Jacqueline, and Denise, your support goes beyond individual stories. It becomes a network, a movement, a nationwide safety net.
Because of you:
- More women are diagnosed early.
- More providers know what to look for.
- More communities are having real conversations about heart health.
- More women feel empowered to speak up.
What’s Next, and How You Can Help
In 2026, WomenHeart is expanding our national impact with bold, equity-driven goals. We’ll grow our support group network, launch additional resources in Spanish, and train our most diverse class of WomenHeart Champions to date. We’ll continue advocating for gender equity in cardiovascular care through policy initiatives, expanded outreach to health systems, and the next phase of our Treat Me Right campaign spotlighting the urgent issue of misdiagnosis in women. We’re also building tools to increase women’s participation in clinical trials and ensure research truly reflects the women it aims to serve.
We can’t do it without you.
As the year draws to a close, your gift ensures that Champions like these continue to inspire change. That women everywhere can find their community. That no one navigating heart disease has to do it alone.
Give today and be part of a future where every woman’s heart is heard.
