Grant To Benefit Women’s Heart Health

By Courant Staff Report, The Hartford Courant, Conn.

May 26–The Hoffman Heart Institute at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center has received a $450,000 grant to educate women in the region about cardiovascular disease.

The three-year grant given by The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving is specifically geared to reach out to groups at higher risk of heart disease – women of color, perimenopausal women and postmenopausal women who may have cardiovascular disease.

“Currently women are being diagnosed later and historically have not had the same treatment options as men,” said Dr. Anita Kelsey, a St. Francis cardiologist and head of the hospital’s Women’s Heart Health Program. “We need to provide the same care for women that we currently do for men.”

Clinicians will work with community groups to teach women personal risk factors for cardiovascular disease and develop strategies to reduce their risk of developing heart problems.

The program hopes to reach more than 1,500 women a year in Greater Hartford.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Hartford Courant, Conn.

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