Heart disease is the number one cause of death for women. Cardiovascular disease kills one in three women and affects 43 million women in the U.S.  There are differences between women and men when it comes to this type of illness—including risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and outcomes.  That’s why our comprehensive Women’s Heart Program approaches cardiovascular health in women from many different angles: screening, community and provider education, prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

We built a team of experts around evidence-based, personalized care to do more than treat cardiovascular disease in women; we’re also here to raise awareness by helping women recognize their unique signs and symptoms of cardiac disease.

Our special approach to women and heart health

When it comes to cardiovascular disease, women experience uniquely different symptoms than men. That’s why evaluation and treatment need to be tailored to each woman. Our cardiologists, vascular surgeons and cardiac surgeons offer a multidisciplinary approach to cardiovascular disease specific to every patient's needs.

The program features:

• A comprehensive assessment of your risk for cardiovascular disease. We look at specific risk factors and address cardiac symptoms related to women's health.
• Specialized diagnostic evaluation that may include lab work, imaging studies, stress testing or cardiac catheterization.
• Risk management through counseling or therapeutic lifestyle changes, medication and education designed around your individual case.

Our Partners

Women’s hearts are different, and they need a different kind of care. Throughout your life, your needs may change. The Women’s Heart Program is designed to take care of women in all stages of life. That’s why we collaborate with programs like Maternal-Fetal Medicine and the Weight Management and Lifestyle Center.

Maternal-Fetal Medicine
The Women’s Heart Program collaborates with Maternal-Fetal Medicine (MFM) to help women with heart disease have safe and healthy pregnancies by optimizing medication and care. MFM offers various services to address the unique needs of pregnant women with heart disease, such as genetics services, which can assess the risk of passing on cardiac disease to the fetus. MFM can also help women who are not interested in pregnancy, by exploring contraceptive options that are safer for the heart.

Weight Management and Lifestyle Center
Practicing good nutrition is an important part of women's heart disease treatment. The Women’s Heart Program has worked with the Weight Management & Lifestyle Center to specifically develop heart healthy diets that can help prevent heart disease and treat women with known heart disease. Our programs use a plant-based diet, which research shows can have significant benefits in heart disease patients such as a lower risk of additional heart attacks

Conditions we treat

• Hypercholesterolemia
• Hypertension
• Stroke
• Peripheral vascular disease
• Diabetes
• Heart attacks
• Sleep and heart disease
• Stress and heart disease

Symptoms to watch for

If you’re a woman and you experience these symptoms, it could be a cardiovascular condition, and you should seek medical attention.

• Decreased exercise tolerance
• Breathlessness with exertion
• Increasing fatigue
• Decreased stamina for no clear reason

Our team

• Rebecca Schallek, M.D., Ph.D., Cardiologist, Director
• Jennifer Ellis, M.D., Vascular Surgeon
• Anuradha Godishala, M.D.
• Hanna Mieszczanska, M.D., Cardiologist
• Mary Pudusseri, M.B.B.S., Cardiologist
• Himabindu Vidula, M.D., Heart Failure Cardiologist

Find out more

To make an appointment with someone on our Women's Heart Program team, call (585) 275-2877.