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:

• Kathryn Lindley, Director (Cardiologist)
• Philip Barger, MD (Cardiologist)

• Anita Bhandiwad, MD (Cardiologist)
• Alison Cahill, MD, MSCI (Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialist)
• Murali Chakinala, MD (Pulmonary Hypertension Specialist)
• Shayna Conner, MD, MSCI (Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialist)
• Tessa Madden, MD, MPH (Family Planning Specialist)
• Colleen McEvoy, MD (Pulmonary Hypertension Specialist)
• Lynne Seacord, MD (Cardiologist)

Clinical expertise

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
• Recognition of cardiovascular risk factors disproportionately affecting women, including pregnancy complications and autoimmune disease

Women’s heart disease management

• Comprehensive cardiovascular care for women living with heart disease, including cardiomyopathy, coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, and arrhythmias
• Management of cardiac conditions disproportionately affecting women, such as coronary artery dissection, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, coronary vasospasm, and microvascular heart disease
• Counseling regarding hormone replacement therapy in women with heart disease

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