THI's WomenHeart Ambassadors

Throughout the month of February, organizations across the Unites States unite to resonate important, life-saving messages about the number one threat to every man, women and child in our country—cardiovascular disease.

It remains the leading cause of death of American women – responsible for 1 in every 3 female deaths in the U.S. That’s approximately the same number of female lives claimed by cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases and diabetes combined.

With nearly 44 million women now living with some form of cardiovascular disease in our country, we cannot be anything less than relentless in our approach to combating this terrible disease. For women younger than 55 years of age, mortality rates are showing no signs of decline. In fact, the most recent report indicates that 64% of women (compared to 50% of men) who die suddenly from heart disease had no previous symptoms of heart disease. These facts keep our physicians, scientists and staff at the Texas Heart Institute laser focused on how to prevent and fight cardiovascular disease.

That is why we partner with local and national organizations to raise awareness, share important heart health information and share the stories of women living with heart and vascular disease with the hopes of reaching women in need.

The amazing women we meet…

We meet incredibly strong individuals during their journey with heart and vascular disease, and many of these women come through our support group and volunteer in our outreach programs. They impact the lives of women far beyond these walls and inspire my team, as well as others, with their unparalleled strength and resilience. One of these women was Terri Dome. Terri bravely fought heart disease and cancer during her life. In honor of her fighting spirit, a special annual event “Pilates has Heart” was created last year. The Pilates has Heart event continues again in 2017, working to bring heart health awareness to even more people here locally in Houston.

"Terri's determination and extraordinary sense of humor allowed her to gracefully make it thru a very difficult life-changing experience; all the while, the skill, commitment and compassion of the team at Texas Heart Institute made her transplant a life-giving experience. We are grateful for all that THI did for Terri and thrilled to see the innovation that they continue to provide in their mission of heart health for all. Personally, Pilates Has Heart gives us comfort in knowing that Terri's friends wish to keep her spirit alive and it is a great outreach to raise heart health awareness for everyone, but especially for women whose diagnosis, symptoms and treatment can be so different than those of men." - Steve Dome

There are many Heart Month events we are participating in around the community during February and we hope you will be able to join us. I want to encourage everyone, whether here in Houston or somewhere across the world, to get out there and build heart health awareness. The more we know, the more we can work together to fight this terrible disease.

Until next time! 

Stephanie Coulter, MD 

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How can you help others?

Spread the Word: Amazing infographics about women’s heart health, heart anatomy, heart-healthy recipes, fitness, and more on our Pinterest Pages.

Share your story, pictures and/or activities during heart month.  We want to hear from you!  womenheart@texasheart.org

Read and Share our Straight Talk newsletter articles Encourage others to sign up for this newsletter.

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Do you have a topic that you would like to learn more about from Dr. Stephanie? Send us an email at women@texasheart.org and your question may be the next Straight Talk topic!

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