Women’s Heart Disease
Heart disease is the leading killer of women in the United States, yet it often is under-recognized and under-treated. We recognize the importance of preventing, identifying and treating women with cardiovascular disease.
The approach in the Center for Women’s Heart Disease is comprehensive and multi-disciplinary, addressing the unique needs of women at all stages of their life. The center employs a coordinated multidisciplinary approach including cardiologists specializing in maternal heart disease, maternal-fetal medicine experts, anesthesiologists and pulmonologists.
Our team
Our multidisciplinary team of expert physicians and nurses includes:
Cardiology
- Amanda Verma, MD (Advanced Heart Failure Specialist)- Interim Director
- Homaa Ahmad, MD (Cardiac Imaging Specialist)
- Anita Bhandiwad, MD (Cardiologist)
- Angela Brown, MD (Hypertension Specialist)
- Sharon Cresci, MD (Cardiologist)
- Lisa de las Fuentes, MD, MS (Cardiologist)
- Marye Gleva, MD (Cardiac Electrophysiologist)
- Becky Menley, RN (Cardiovascular Nurse)
- Linda Peterson, MD (Cardiologist)
- Nishath Quader, MD (Cardiac Imaging Specialist)
- Marc Sintek, MD (Interventional Cardiologist)
Clinical expertise
Women’s Heart Disease Management
- Comprehensive cardiovascular care for women living with heart disease, including cardiomyopathy, coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, congenital heart disease and arrhythmias
- Expert management of cardiac conditions disproportionately affecting women, such as coronary artery dissection (SCAD), heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, coronary vasospasm, and microvascular heart disease
- Counseling regarding hormone replacement therapy in women with heart disease
- Prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease associated with cancer and cancer therapy
- Advanced surgical therapies for coronary artery disease in women, including off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery, minimally invasive coronary artery bypass grafting, and arterial revascularization.
- Treatment of complex aortic diseases, including chronic dissection, thoracic aortic aneurysms, and thoracoabdominal dissections and aneurysms.
- State of the art treatment of valvular heart disease, including transcatheter aortic replacement, mitral valve repair, and right anterior thoracotomy surgical aortic valve replacement.
- Medical and surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation
Multidisciplinary Maternal Cardiovascular Management Team
- Pregnancy risk assessment, planning, and management for women with pre-existing conditions including congenital heart disease, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, valvular heart disease, aortopathy, and arrhythmia
- Management of cardiovascular complications of pregnancy including peripartum cardiomyopathy, pre-eclampsia, and coronary artery dissection
- Co-management with primary obstetrician and cardiologist or assumption of patient care, as per patient and referring physician preferences
Multidisciplinary Family Planning Clinic
- Contraception counseling for women with pre-existing cardiovascular conditions such as cardiomyopathy, congenital heart disease, pulmonary hypertension, arrhythmias, coronary artery disease and valvular heart disease
- Providing safe and effective methods of contraception, individualized to each patient’s unique cardiovascular and pregnancy risk profile
- Counseling regarding medication teratogenicity, contraceptive safety and effectiveness, and cardiovascular risk of pregnancy
Preventative Heart Health
- Cardiovascular risk assessment and risk factor modification to reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease in women
- Expert management of difficult-to-control or resistant hypertension
- Recognition of cardiovascular risk factors disproportionately affecting women, including pregnancy complications (such as preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and fetal growth restriction) and autoimmune disease
- Lifestyle modification through individualized nutrition counseling and supervised exercise therapy
Postpartum Heart Health
- Multidisciplinary blood pressure management, cardiovascular risk factor screening, contraception provision, and health counseling through the MY HEART postpartum hypertension clinic
Clinical affiliations
The center is supported by a network of collaborative services, including:
- Maternal-Fetal Medicine
- Center for Adult Congenital Heart Disease
- Gynecology and Family Planning
- Pulmonary Hypertension
- Perinatal Behavioral Health Service
- Hypertension Clinic
- Center for Heart Rhythm Disorders
- Cardio-Oncology
- Cardiothoracic Surgery
- Vascular Surgery
Ongoing Clinical Research
The Center for Women’s Heart Disease is committed to advancing care in women through clinical research. The following clinical studies are ongoing through our center:
- iSCAD Registry – A multi-centered registry to improve patient diagnosis and outcomes following Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD)
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- Site Principle Investigator: Kathryn Lindley, MD
- Learn more: https://iscadregistry.bidmc.org/index.php
- Pregnancy Associated Cardiovascular Outcomes Registry – Cardiovascular phenotyping registry for pregnant women with cardiac disease, including preeclampsia. Participants will undergo cardiac imaging and will have blood collected.
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- Principle Investigator: Kathryn Lindley, MD
- MY HEART (Maternal hYpertension clinic to improve postpartum Health, Educate, And Reduce long-Term complications) – A post-partum multidisciplinary clinic for women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, aimed at reducing short- and long-term complications of high blood pressure in pregnancy.
- Principle Investigator: Kathryn Lindley, MD
- SURVIVE Registry – Multi-center clinical registry for patients with cancer and cardiovascular disease.
- Site Co-investigator: Kathleen Zhang, MD
- ACE-MOVE registry – Registry enrolling patients with suspected or confirmed diagnosis of cardiac amyloidosis.
- Site Co-investigator: Kathleen Zhang, MD
- ACE-Detect – Prospective multicenter study evaluating performance and safety of the ASSURE Wearable Cardioverter Defibrillator
- Site Co-investigator: Marye Gleva, MD
- ADAPT Response: Randomized trial of a specific ICD algorithm in patients with biventricular ICD devices
- Site Co-investigator: Marye Gleva, MD
- Post-approval registry of the subcutaneous ICD
- Site Co-investigator: Marye Gleva, MD
- INIX-HF Study: evaluating the effects of inorganic nitrate on exercise performance in patients with heart failure
- Principle Investigator: Linda Peterson, MD
- SPYRAL Trial: Study investigating renal denervation for patients with uncontrolled hypertension.
- Site Principle Investigator: Angela Brown, MD
Patient information
Learn more about maternal heart care »
Learn more about women’s heart health »
Learn more about pregnancy complications and heart disease »
Make an appointment
Referring Physicians: 314-362-1291
Patients: 314-362-1291 or 888-210-8375