Winthrop Holds Women's Heart Health Symposium

Ladies, take time to connect with your heart. Winthrop-University Hospital's Institute for Heart Care will hold its first annual Women's Heart Health Symposium, "A Woman's Art is in Her Heart," on Thursday, February 1, 2007. The program will be held from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM at Winthrop's Community Outreach Center, 101 Mineola Boulevard, at the corner of Second Street in Mineola. The evening will focus on the importance of women taking time out for themselves and will feature practical information about stress reduction, including how the arts can positively impact their health.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women. However, research has shown that women can modify, change or treat their risk factors to reduce the risk, and significantly lower their chances of developing heart disease. Committed to raising public awareness, healthcare professionals from Winthrop's Division of Cardiology are sponsoring this community-based initiative that will present heart-healthy information in a fun and unique format that emphasizes total well-being.

The symposium will include talks from two of Winthrop's experts in cardiology, as well as risk factor screening, a cooking demonstration of a heart-healthy meal, and stress reduction techniques.

Learn about the connection between the arts and your heart from George Gubernikoff, MD, Director of Clinical Cardiac Services and Medical Director of the Center for Aortic Diseases at Winthrop. Kevin Marzo, MD, Chief of the Division of Cardiology at Winthrop, will give a short presentation on heart-healthy eating. Attendees also will have the opportunity to hear about the experiences of a young woman dealing with cardiovascular disease.

Massage therapists will be on hand to help women relax, and stress reduction therapies such as yoga, art and music also will be featured.

"We developed this initiative in order to enlighten women in the community about cardiovascular health. Because women are accustomed to taking care of everyone else, they tend to ignore their own symptoms, which may be different from symptoms men typically experience," explained Patricia McCauley, MSN, RN, Director of Cardiology Nursing at Winthrop. "This promises to be a fun-filled and educational evening that can make a difference in a woman's well-being," she added.

Admission is free, but space is limited. Reservations are required. To reserve your space, please call (516) 663-8305. For further information, please e-mail pmccauley@winthrop.org