For Release:  Thursday, April 10, 2003

 

 

Contact:           Bob Allen, Director of Communications

                           315/470-7582

                       

                           Leesa NunnoNorod, Business Development Manager,

                           Cardiac Services, 315/470-7105

 

 

Crouse Hospital Launches Women’s HeartAdvantage

Heart Disease Education Program

 

Syracuse, NY – Cardiovascular diseases claim the lives of more women each year than the next seven causes of death combined – and almost twice as many as all forms of cancer. Yet, most women believe breast cancer is their greatest health risk and are not even aware of the risk factors or symptoms of heart disease. To address this, Crouse Hospital has introduced a model program as part of a national initiative to change women’s behavior about heart disease.

 

Called Women's HeartAdvantage, the initiative is geared toward changing the way physicians approach prevention, detection and treatment of women with heart disease. It will also raise awareness and change behavior among women about steps they can take to prevent heart attacks and how to recognize when one is occurring, since the symptoms can be different for women.

 

"We are very excited about participating in a program that can truly impact the lives of women,” said Anis Obeid, MD, FACC, medical director for Echocardiography Services at Crouse and physician champion for the Women’s HeartAdvantage program. “Raising women's awareness of who is at risk for heart disease, what the symptoms are and how to react if symptoms occur is crucial to successful prevention and treatment.”

 

VHA Inc., a national alliance of 2,200 health care organizations, is collaborating with Crouse to implement this hospital-based program. Prior to launching Women’s HeartAdvantage, VHA conducted benchmarking research to measure women's attitudes and awareness about heart disease.

 

 

- more -

 

 

Crouse Hospital Launches Women’s HeartAdvantage ------- 22222

 

 

 

Approximately 500 women ages 40 to 70 selected randomly from Onondaga and surrounding counties participated in the survey.*  "This research revealed a real disconnect for women about heart disease. Many of those surveyed have risk factors such as high cholesterol and obesity, yet they don’t recognize that these risks can directly lead to heart attacks,” says Obeid. “These findings told us that we must rely on physicians, including internists, family practitioners and obstetricians/gynecologists, to provide women with information about their personal risk for heart disease.” 

 

Key survey findings:

·        Nearly 50% of respondents believe that breast cancer poses the greatest threat to their health. In reality, 43.3% of women die from cardiovascular disease and only 4% die from breast cancer.

·        84% of Central New York respondents qualify as being at risk for heart disease, yet only 30% have been diagnosed or perceive themselves to be at risk.

·        Physicians and their female patients are not initiating conversations with each other about heart disease. 76% of Central New York respondents would prefer to get information about heart disease from their physicians; yet 68% of women who have obtained information about heart disease said the information did not come from their physician’s office.

·        Only 25% of women have initiated discussions with their doctor about the risk of heart disease, just 11% have participated in a heart screening, and only 22% have completed a self-assessment risk profile.

 

“Our goal with this program is to get women to act,” states Joseph Battaglia, MD, medical director of Cardiac Care Services at Crouse Hospital. “The problem is that women are delaying seeing their physicians, or waiting too long to go to a hospital emergency department when experiencing even the most mild chest pain and discomfort or the classic symptoms of a heart attack. In this campaign, we’re giving women tools to help them be more assertive in seeking rapid and appropriate care. And, we’re enhancing education with our physicians about their role in treating women for this illness.”

 

 

- more -

 

 

 

Crouse Hospital Launches Women’s HeartAdvantage ------- 33333

 


To help get the word out about Women’s HeartAdvantage, Crouse is partnering with Eckerd to provide heart health screenings in area stores each month. The first is scheduled for Saturday, April 12, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Shoppingtown Mall. There is a $5 fee and appointments can be made by calling 1-866-4CROUSE.  In addition, Eckerd will also distribute information about women’s cardiac risk factors to customers of its pharmacies, potentially reaching 30,000 people weekly.

 

The hospital’s Women’s HeartAdvantage team will also be conducting educational presentations and heart risk assessments each month for area employers and women’s groups in addition to providing information to primary care physicians’ offices.

 

Consumers calling 1-866-4CROUSE also can request a free copy of the hospital’s Heart Healthy Handbook, a comprehensive booklet that includes information about preventing and controlling heart disease, including recipes and exercise guidelines. These efforts will be enhanced by a consumer advertising campaign to further raise awareness of this important health and educational initiative.

 

The Women’s HeartAdvantage program is supported in part through a grant from the Crouse Hospital Auxiliary. In addition to Eckerd, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, WSYR News 570 and WIXT NewsChannel 9 are also partnering with the hospital to support this initiative.

 

“Women’s cardiovascular health is perhaps the most overlooked and misunderstood health risk in America,” said Dr. Obeid. “Crouse Hospital has a long tradition of caring for women in this community, and we’re proud to be taking the lead in getting the word out about this important issue – and in continuing  to make a difference in the lives of Central New York women.” 

 

For more information on Crouse Hospital’s Women’s HeartAdvantage program, call

1-866-4CROUSE or visit www.crouse.org.

 

# # #

 

* Research conducted September 30 – October 5, 2002 by Market Strategies. Residents were sampled proportionate to the population using random digital dialing. The 500 interviews produced a statistical precision of +/- 5 percent at a 95 percent confidence level.