RECENT EVENTS
DR. ROBERTS ON WOMEN AND CARDIAC DISEASE
A Meeting of the Arizona satellite group, May 1, Mayo Clinic Hospital, Phoenix
Fran Roberts, R.N., Ph.D., spoke to us on Women and Heart Disease. Through her work as Vice President at Grand Canyon University, Dr. Roberts was invited to serve as the Chair of the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women campaign in the Phoenix area. GCU is a major sponsor of this campaign on the local level.
Dr. Roberts shared her own experience with a likely heart attack, and the challenges of getting treatment as a woman. When she arrived at the ER, the blood pressure cuff was first put on her husband! She also described her realization that even many cardiologists are unfamiliar with the symptoms of a heart attack in women. Those symptoms can be shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, and back or jaw pain. She advocates seeking a woman cardiologist!
Dr. Roberts also shared the alarming statistics about women and cardiovascular disease, which kills over 35% of women. Women account for over half of the deaths caused by cardiovascular disease, yet men are always the first ones we think of when it comes to heart disease. She urged us to complete the Heart CheckUp at www.goredforwomen.org so we could understand our personal risks for heart disease and take action to reduce that risk.
Dr. Roberts also described the history of Grand Canyon University, which is now a private, for-profit school. Their nursing program works to the meet the demands for nurses in Arizona.