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Heart Center for Women

Saint Joseph’s Heart Center for Women provides early detection through screening, evaluation and education. Most women don’t realize that heart disease, not cancer, is the leading cause of death. Heart disease kills more than 8.5 million women annually around the world. It’s also not a disease of older women: it is estimated that 83,000 of those women who die are younger than age 65. The Saint Joseph’s Heart Center for Women recognizes that women experience symptoms and risk factors that are different from those of men, and understand the special concerns and needs of women. Our clinicians will discuss issues that include cholesterol, diet, weight loss, pregnancy, hormones, aging and their effects on the heart.

The Saint Joseph’s Heart Center for Women was established by a team of medical professionals who have specialized in women and heart disease for more than thirty years. Saint Joseph’s Hospital, with the 12th largest cardiac program in the country, was the first hospital in the Southeast to perform open heart surgery, develop a comprehensive cardiac catheterization laboratory and the first hospital to provide angioplasty as an alternative to bypass surgery. Saint Joseph’s is recognized for its cardiovascular services and physician expertise. With physicians, a nurse practitioner, a registered nurse, a registered dietitian, medical technicians and an exercise physiologist on staff at the Saint Joseph’s Heart Center for Women, you can learn how to protect yourself from heart disease.

How we can help

When you make an appointment at Saint Joseph’s Heart Center for Women, we take a comprehensive history and risk assessment, as well as perform a physical exam. We provide a full range of preventive services, including a lipid profile, dietary consultation, weight reduction counseling and risk factor education. We also can perform comprehensive ultrasound screening exams on-site. If necessary, we provide further cardiac testing through Saint Joseph’s Hospital, Georgia’s only U.S. top 50 hospital.

In addition to individual consultation and assessments, Saint Joseph’s Heart Center for Women works to educate the community about women’s cardiovascular disease through community events and programs, continuing medical education for physicians who care for women, and research clinical trials available through Saint Joseph’s Research Institute.

How you can help

Know the signs of heart disease.
Contact your doctor immediately if you have any symptoms.
Improve your diet by eating and cooking with less fat.
Eat more whole grains, fruits, vegetables and fish.
Exercise at least six times a week for 30 minutes.
Reduce stress and make HEALTH a priority.
If you smoke, STOP.
Have a full lipid evaluation and discuss the results with your doctor.
If you have diabetes, manage it with proper lifestyle and medications.
Control your weight.

Who’s at risk for heart disease?

Women with diabetes or those who need medication to control blood sugar.
Women who had gestational diabetes or a baby weighing over nine pounds.
Women who currently smoke or who smoked for more than 20 years.
Women with high cholesterol, high LDL or low HDL.
Women with high triglycerides.
Women with a history of high blood pressure or blood pressure problems during pregnancy.
Women who exercise less than 30 minutes a day.
Women who are more than 20 pounds overweight.
Women with a family history of cardiac, stroke or circulation problems.
Women over 55 years or those past menopause.