On National Wear Red Day, MemorialCare formally announced the opening of the brand-new Women’s Heart Center – dedicated solely to the prevention and early detection of heart disease. The clinic is held at MemorialCare Medical Group in Douglas Park, with testing and specialty care performed at MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center.
To commemorate this important milestone for women in the Long Beach community, MemorialCare employees united with Councilwoman Dr. Suely Saro, Councilmember Dr. Joni Ricks-Oddie, Dr. Nissi Suppogu and MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute physicians and care team in taking a stance against the No. 1 killer of women: heart disease. To raise awareness, they formed a giant heart, while wearing red heart-shaped glasses and red scarves over hospital uniforms and educated the public by lifting signs encouraging women to “Know Your Numbers” demonstrating the importance of knowing important indicators such as cholesterol, blood pressure, and BMI.
“I encourage everyone to talk to two women in your life today about the importance of knowing your numbers and helping educate what that means to their survival,” said Nissi Suppogu, M.D., medical director, women’s heart center, MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute. “With heart diseases still being the No. 1 killer of women, with one woman dying from heart disease each minute in the U.S., it is important to encourage the women in your life to know their numbers so that this statistic can change.”
The Women’s Heart Center will address the unique gender differences in presentation and diagnosis of heart disease in women. This type of sub-specialized program is an emerging field in healthcare to help bridge the gender inequality in cardiac care and outcomes in women with heart disease. The Women’s Heart Center also offers second opinion services for women, who continue to experience cardiac symptoms, without having been provided the appropriate diagnostic testing.
“I am proud to formally announce our Women’s Heart Center, a significant step towards providing specialized heart care and resources for woman,” said Dr. Suppogu. “With this dedicated Center for women’s heart health, we will provide even more specialized care to those who may have concerns for their heart health and be able to give them the specialized care they need.”
Wear Red Day is observed on the first Friday in February each year which is dedicated to raising awareness about heart disease among women. This annual event encourages people to wear red clothing and accessories to show their support for heart health and to promote heart disease prevention. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States, and this day serves as a reminder of the importance of heart health education, prevention, and early detection.
