Home > New England Heart Institute > Women's Cardiac Center

One out of every two-and-a-half women die from cardiovascular disease and nearly 60% of women experiencing a heart attack have no prior symptoms. If a woman age 45-64 has heart disease, her chances of dying are twice that of a man in the same age group. Nearly 500,000 women die each year from cardiovascular disease, more than the next seven causes of death combined.

Reducing Risks, Improving Lives
The Women's Cardiac Center offers a comprehensive program that identifies a woman's risk for heart disease and provides recommendations for reducing these risks.

Women may self-refer or be referred by their physician to the Center for a risk assessment and screening.

An initial one-hour session is scheduled with Kristine M. Ziemba, MSN, ARNP, who coordinates the program under the direction of Louis I. Fink, MD, Medical Director of the New England Heart Institute.

Heart Disease Risk Assessment
Using the American Heart Association's recommended Framingham Risk Assessment, a woman's risk factors are examined to determine her risk of developing heart disease or dying from a heart attack in the next 10 years. Points are assessed based on her age, smoking habits, HDL cholesterol, total cholesterol and systolic blood pressure. Point totals help determine if a woman is at low, intermediate or high risk for developing heart disease.

While some risk factors such as age and family history cannot be modified, others can be improved. Modifiable heart disease risk factors include:

• Smoking
• High cholesterol
• Obesity
• Lack of exercise
• High blood pressure
• Diabetes

Women who smoke have six times the risk for heart attack than women who don't smoke, and they are more likely to die following a first heart attack.

Risk Factor Modification Programs
Catholic Medical Center offers programs to help modify a woman's risk factors for cardiovascular disease:

• Cholesterol Management Center
• Lifestyle management programs at The Wellness Center
• Obesity Treatment Center
• Diabetes Resource Institute
• Smoking cessation programs
• Stress reduction programs

Obesity increases the risk of diabetes, hypertension and cholesterol abnormalities and is a predictor of cardiovascular-related mortality.

Sign Up For Better Health
To make an appointment for a consultation at the Women's Cardiac Center, call 603.663.5299 or call ASK-A-NURSE® at 603.626.2626. There is a nominal fee for the consultation and some insurance plans may cover the cost of the visit.