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The Women's Heart and Vascular Program provides state-of-the-art cardiac care for women with heart disease, as well as expert screening of women at risk for heart disease.
Heart disease remains the number one killer of American women and there is a great need for specialized care directed at women's cardiac needs. The Women's Heart and Vascular Program is dedicated to screening, educating and treating women at risk for, or with established heart disease.
Under the direction of Lisa A. Freed, MD, FACC, the Women's Heart and Vascular Program incorporates not only her expertise in cardiology, but also collaborates with experts in diabetes, menopause, nutrition, exercise physiology, and smoking cessation. In addition, Dr. Freed consults with experts in sleep apnea and mental health professionals for intervention with co-existing depression and anxiety.
The program also focuses on clinical research in collaboration with Yale’s Women’s Health Research Center in order to advance the care of women with heart disease.
Services
Personalized Risk Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation
New patients will complete a questionnaire at their first appointment to identify individual risk factors and symptoms for heart disease. This questionnaire will become the basis of the initial evaluation by the cardiologist, who will review risk factors, discuss symptoms, and determine abnormalities on physical exam and electrocardiogram.
Then, an individualized care plan will be made, which may include:
Laboratory testing, including lipid panel and blood glucose. Testing may also include hemoglobin A1C, cardio CRP, and other labs determined to be appropriate, such as thyroid or hormone testing.
Appropriate diagnostic testing.
Appropriate referral to an additional specialist, including a diabetes or menopause expert, nutritionist, exercise physiologist, smoking cessation expert, pulmonologist, or mental health counselor.
Treatment of risk factors and/or cardiac disease with follow-up appointments.
American Heart Association Go Red Talk - Maternal Health
MDs Sarah Goldstein and Norrisa Haynes discuss the impact of pregnancy on cardiovascular health and how heart disease during pregnancy presents in low- and middle-income countries, globally.
