September 29, 2010

Dear Friend of the Texas Heart Institute,

By now, I hope you have heard of our plans to launch the Texas Heart Institute Center for Women's Heart and Vascular Health, under the direction of Dr. Stephanie Coulter, an outstanding cardiologist who is passionate and committed to the mission of preventing and curing cardiovascular disease in women.

More than 41 million American women suffer from heart-related conditions and more women than men die of cardiovascular disease each year.

We officially launch the Center with a press conference at 10:30 a.m. on October 7 at Houston City Hall with Mayor Annise Parker and a number of other luminaries participating. On the following day, October 8 at noon at the River Oaks Country Club, we inaugurate a series of "Community Conversations with the Texas Heart Institute." This luncheon event will focus on the work and role of the new Women's Center. We hope to see you there.

As always, our goal is to educate the general public and physicians about the unique problems women face with cardiovascular disease, to improve medical treatment for women and to conduct cutting-edge research that will make a difference.

The Center is already engaged in some exciting medical research which you can learn more about when we launch the Center's new website, www.texasheart.org/women, on October 7.

One example is THI's collaboration with Dr. Lorraine Frazier, Nancy B. Willerson Distinguished Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center School of Nursing, and TexGen, a genetic research collaboration among institutions in the Texas Medical Center. The group will harvest existing data from multiple sources for clinic-based observational studies to determine whether depression is a significant risk factor for women and, if so, how best to intervene. The researchers' hypothesis, based on a first look at the data, is that by addressing depression with existing interventions, we can reduce women's cardiovascular risk by 20% or more. If true, this would be a great step forward for women's health, perhaps akin to the discovery that taking aspirin daily reduces the risk of heart attacks by 23%.

In another study that harvests and combines previously separate data, we are looking at the population of Harris County, taking into consideration gender, age, ethnicity, race, risk factors and socio-economic status. The purpose of this investigation is to identify the most at-risk populations and the nature of their risk. This will allow THI and collaborators, including community service and public health organizations, to chart targeted intervention strategies for these at-risk groups to reduce the devastating human and economic cost of cardiovascular disease. Such a model for intervention in Harris County could be duplicated for surrounding counties, the rest of Texas and the Southwest.

The Center has much to offer all women so we hope you visit the website often. Thank you for your continuing support of our mission.

Respectfully,

 

 
James T. Willerson, MD
President and Medical Director 

Contact Dr. Willerson

Read the previous issues of Heart to Heart in the archives.

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