The Queen's Heart Center Study Reveals Alarming Trend in Heart Disease in Women

Joana Magno, MD, releases the findings of a Queen's Heart Center study on women and heart disease at a press conference.

The Queen's Heart Center announced the results of the state's first study, called Heart Disease and Hawaii Women, which examined Honolulu women's awareness and perception of the number one threat to their health: heart disease. The alarming statistics spurred:

• The launch at Queen's of Women's Heart Advantage, an award-winning awareness campaign targeting at-risk women in Hawaii

• A redesign of Outpatient Cardiac Services at the Queen's Heart Center to provide fast and convenient heart risk assessments.

The Queen's Medical Center's research found that: • 78 percent of women in the Honolulu area are at-risk for heart disease, yet only 25 percent indicated that they or their physician considered them to be at risk for heart disease or heart attack.

• 40 percent of respondents believe that breast cancer is the greatest threat to their health compared with 31 percent who perceived heart disease as the greatest threat. In reality, 43 percent of women die of heart disease, while 22 percent die of all cancers combined.

• 74 percent of survey respondents would prefer to receive information about heart disease from physicians, but only 21 percent reported seeing information about cardiovascular disease in their physicians' offices.

• 69 percent of women surveyed said screening for heart disease is as important as getting an annual mammogram, yet only 21 percent participated in any cardiovascular screening.

• 53 percent exhibited more than one risk factor for heart disease, but do not consider themselves at risk.

"The study results are clear," said cardiologist Joana Magno, MD, a member of the Queen's independent medical staff, "Heart disease will continue to kill Hawaii women unless a new approach to cardiovascular disease is taken."

The Queen's Medical Center has taken the first step to meet this newly recognized community need by launching Women's Heart Advantage, which shifts the focus to a new prevention and diagnosis paradigm. Linking Hawaii to a nationwide network of leading medical centers, Women's Heart Advantage is an aggressive awareness campaign based on four components, including community education to increase awareness, providing free screenings, improving communication between patients and physicians and improving clinical outcomes.

"Since February 2003, over 1,000 people have been scheduled or screened," said Theodore Edmonds, manager of the Queen's Heart Center. "Of those screened, more than half were at moderate to high risk for heart disease." Edmonds stated that Queen's Heart Center has shifted to a delivery system that meets the critical community need for fast and free access to screenings by providing one-stop registration and one-call scheduling for free screenings. A second phase now being implemented takes the Heart Center staff into the community to offer more quick and convenient screening opportunities.

Both men and women should call 547-GIFT to receive a free Heart Risk Assessment.