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Lenox Hill Women’s Heart Program event spotlights troubling disparities in care
Three female patients spoke about treatment they received for cardiac conditions they didn't know they had
Lenox Hill Hospital’s Women’s Heart Program hosted an event to raise awareness about women’s cardiac care and gender-based disparities, as well as the need for inclusive research. The gathering, held at the Harmonie Club in New York City, featured presentations by Northwell Health leaders, who discussed ways in which the medical community can address and fix inequities that currently exist in health care.
Stacey E. Rosen, MD, executive director of the Katz Institute for Women’s Health and senior vice president of women’s health at Northwell, highlighted the institute’s efforts to eliminate disparities and promote female-specific research to better understand heart health risk factors, symptoms and treatments. Eugenia Gianos, MD, director of the Lenox Hill Women’s Heart Program and director of cardiovascular prevention at Northwell Health, shined a spotlight on the rise of cardiovascular disease in younger women, emphasizing an urgent need for action.
Tara Narula, MD, associate director of the Lenox Hill Women’s Heart Program, led a panel of three female patients who exhibited symptoms they didn’t realize were signs of significant heart issues. One of the patients attributed weight gain and fatigue to menopause. However, imaging revealed a large blockage in her main artery, suggesting a catastrophic cardiac event was only weeks away. Another patient mistook the heart attack symptoms of pressure in her jaw, chest and arm during a run for physical exertion, but collapsed soon after and was rushed to the emergency room. The cardiac imaging of a third patient, who lacked any symptoms, revealed a significant heart valve dysfunction causing blood to flow in reverse, which, if left untreated, could lead to heart failure.
All three women, who range in age from early 60s to late 70s, underwent life-saving procedures at Lenox Hill Hospital, where Women’s Heart Program physicians tended to them. They have since made significant lifestyle changes to maintain better heart health. The conversation around their experiences illustrated the value of comprehensive education on female cardiac health and underscored the importance of women taking a proactive role in managing their own well-being.
“Women are different. We are different biologically, we are different in terms of how we experience illness and our response to treatment,” said Jill Kalman, MD, chief medical officer and deputy physician-in-chief of Northwell Health. “Northwell has been looking at women’s health differently for a long time. The Katz Institute for Women, led by my friend and colleague Dr. Stacey Rosen, aims to understand the elements of what is important for women, in terms of health outcomes and research.”
Statistics show one woman dies every minute from cardiovascular disease in the United States. Additionally, women, especially Black women, wait longer to receive care upon entering a hospital for chest pain. Lenox Hill Women's Heart Program is determined to address these negative trends by utilizing experts from primary care, gynecology, endocrinology, nutritional services, and behavioral health to provide multidisciplinary, personalized care. The growing program will have a second base in the state-of-the-art Victoria and Lloyd Goldman Health Care Pavilion, a 15-floor, 200,000-square-foot outpatient complex opening in 2025 on the Upper East Side.
Lenox Hill Hospital is renowned for its exceptional heart services. U.S. News and World Report ranked Lenox Hill as the 10th best in the nation for heart and vascular care, while Newsweek named the hospital among the "World's Best Specialized Hospitals" for cardiology. Healthgrades ranked it among the top five in New York State for cardiac care and coronary intervention. It has also named the facility one of "America's 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Care" ™ for 11 years in a row – the only hospital in the state to achieve this feat – and one of "America's 100 Best Hospitals for Coronary Intervention" ™ for 13 years in a row.
The New York State Department of Health ranked Lenox Hill among New York State's best hospitals for cardiac surgery and percutaneous coronary interventions. The hospital also earned the prestigious double asterisk in the surgical category of isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or valve, or valve/CABG. It was the only hospital in New York State to receive the DOH's prestigious double asterisk for TAVR.
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