New program offers comprehensive prevention services, screenings, diagnostics and treatment for the number one cause of death and illness in all women
MIAMI, Feb. 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Novocardia, a value-based cardiovascular disease care platform, and My Cardiologist, a trusted provider of cardiovascular services in South Florida for more than 60 years, are pleased to announce the launch of The Women’s Heart Health Program in South Florida. The new cardiac clinical center will focus on preventing, diagnosing and treating cardiovascular disease, 70% of which is preventable.
Recognizing that women face unique risk factors for heart disease, the Women’s Heart Health Program is designed to ensure that women receive expert specialty care for all their cardiovascular needs.
“Over 70 percent of cardiovascular disease is preventable, and 90 percent of women have at least one cardiac disease risk factor. Yet heart disease in women is often overlooked and under-diagnosed,” says Dr. Abbe Rosenbaum, a cardiologist and nuclear cardiologist at My Cardiologist who is leading the new women’s heart program.
“By ensuring that women receive optimal cardiovascular care, we can prevent heart attacks and strokes, and help women’s hearts stay healthy and strong throughout their lives.”
My Cardiologist is a comprehensive cardiology practice with six locations in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties. The program targets women over age 40 with a focus on screening for traditional and gender-specific risk factors; women of childbearing age at risk for hypertensive diseases of pregnancy; and oncology patients/breast cancer survivors.
“While strides have been made in decreasing heart disease, awareness of risk factors remains low among Hispanic, Black, and South Asian women,” Rosenbaum says. “The women’s heart program will seek to reach women from diverse communities through partnerships and outreach with churches and other community groups.”
Women’s Cardiovascular Disease Symptoms Differ from Men’s
Men and women face many similar risk factors for heart disease, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and smoking. But women may also face gender-specific risks.
These include past pregnancy complications, early menopause, breast cancer treatments, and autoimmune diseases, which affect women more often than men. Yet Rosenbaum notes that these risk factors are often not included in tools to estimate cardiovascular risk.
Women may also experience heart disease differently. Heart attack symptoms in both men and women often include chest pain, sweating, shortness of breath, and arm, neck, jaw or back pain.
Women, however, are less likely to have some of those classic signs. Instead, they may experience extreme fatigue, lightheadedness, nausea, heart palpitations and sudden confusion. Women are also more likely to dismiss their symptoms or delay seeking care, and when they do, they are 50 percent more likely to be misdiagnosed.
The women’s heart program will include prevention services and screenings, a personalized assessment of heart disease risk and care from specialists in interventional cardiology, structural cardiology, electrophysiology, heart failure and peripheral venous and arterial disease.
“The launch of the Women’s Heart Health Program continues My Cardiologist’s longstanding commitment to bringing the highest quality cardiology care to all South Florida residents,” says Dr. Dan Blumenthal, Novocardia CEO. “This program will both help to raise awareness among women about cardiovascular disease risks and ways to prevent heart disease, and provide women with a wide range of heart conditions expert care that is specifically geared toward their needs.”
To support women in lowering their heart disease risk, the program takes a multidisciplinary, holistic approach. Services will include assistance with blood pressure control, smoking cessation, diabetes management, weight loss and exercise programs.
The clinical team will also collaborate with ob-gyns and primary care physicians to ensure the full spectrum of women’s health needs are met.
Online Women’s Heart Risk Screening Tool Now Available
To support awareness of the unique risk factors that affect women, My Cardiologist is also launching a new online cardiovascular disease assessment tool. The free virtual heart risk screening tool provides an interactive quiz that covers a wide range of questions related to their lifestyle and overall health. At the end of the short quiz, users receive a risk assessment score relative to their likelihood of developing or having heart disease. To take the free online heart risk assessment, please visit www.mycardiologist.com/heart-risk.
ABOUT NOVOCARDIA
Founded in 2020, Novocardia is on a mission to transform the delivery of cardiovascular care for all by building the national cardiovascular network of choice for high-quality, high-value care. Novocardia is committed to putting cardiologists, and their patients, at the center of care by investing in our partner practices, deploying purpose-built data and analytics tools to improve patient outcomes, and enabling our partners to transition more successfully to value-based care. To learn more about Novocardia, please visit www.novocardiahealth.com.
ABOUT MY CARDIOLOGIST
Founded in 1960 by Dr. Bernard Silverstein, My Cardiologist is dedicated to providing excellence in cardiac care to all patients, striving to make state-of-the-art technology accessible. Additionally, our doctors and staff pride themselves on delivering respectful and individualized care to each person, continuing the tradition of superior and personalized patient care. To learn more about My Cardiologist, please visit www.mycardiologist.com.
SOURCE Novocardia
