News Releases

Memorial Hermann Educates Women on Heart Health at Executive Women’s Breakfast

Houston, Texas, November 28, 2005 – Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women in the U.S., and yet only 13% of women realize it.  To educate women about their risks, Memorial Hermann held an Executive Women’s Breakfast on Thurs., Nov. 17 addressing current women’s heart health issues at its new, state-of-the-art Memorial Hermann Heart & Vascular Institute – Memorial City.

The event is part of a partnership with the American Heart Association on the Go Red For Women campaign, a national movement to empower women to make proactive lifestyle changes and reduce their risk for heart disease.

"Cardiovascular disease affects all of us from cradle to grave, but it kills more women than men every year” said Gloria Hui, M.D., a cardiologist who practices at Memorial Hermann Heart & Vascular Institute - Memorial City and featured speaker at the breakfast.  “The good news is there has been a reduction in the rate of death in the last 20 years, but the reduction is much greater in men than in women."

Dr. Hui encouraged women to seek medical help if they experience lingering discomfort or chest pain, shortness of breath, cold sweats or other common symptoms of heart attack. She also stressed the importance of healthy lifestyle choices such as following a low-fat diet, exercising at least 30 minutes a day, and taking aspirin if one is over age 55 and has risk factors for heart disease.

Other speakers at the breakfast included Debbie Ortiz, executive director of the American Heart Association Houston/Gulf Coast District, who discussed the Go Red For Women movement, and Jeff Nowlin, assistant vice president of hospital operations at Memorial Hermann Memorial City Hospital.

“For heart attack patients, good care means rapid care. The faster blood flow is restored, the better the patient’s chance of a full and rapid recovery,” said Nowlin. “Memorial Hermann Memorial City Heart & Vascular Institute’s exceptional results place us in the top 10 percent of all U.S. hospitals.”

Nowlin also touted the institute’s state-of-the-art robotic cardiac surgery and the skills of its surgeons, citing an upcoming milestone for that facility – 1,500 off-pump bypass surgeries performed, more than any other hospital in Houston.

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