For 30 years, the Women’s Cardiovascular Medicine Program at the University of California, Davis, has been raising awareness about heart disease, the leading cause of death in women.
The nationally recognized program celebrated its many accomplishments with 30 special events.th A commemorative gala was held last week on National Wear Red Day®.
“We created this program to address women’s health disparities through clinical care, research, advocacy, and education,” said Frances Lazda, founder and director of the program and Women in Cardiovascular Medicine. said Amparo C. Villablanca, Endowment Chair. “But,” Villablanca added. “Heart disease continues to kill more women than men, and many of the increases over the past decade have been reversed since the pandemic, with unfortunately more deaths among younger women.”
We want all women to prioritize their mental health. By raising awareness among women of all ages about the importance of prevention and dispelling the myth that women are less susceptible to heart disease, we can be more successful in saving lives. ” —Amparo C. Villablanca
She made the comments to more than 100 people gathered in a ballroom at the University of California, Davis Activities and Recreation Center. Most participants at the venue wore red clothes.
The celebration was attended by campus leaders, including Chancellor Gary S. May and his wife, Rechelle May, and UC Davis health leaders, including Thomas Smith, chair of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine. Community leaders, government representatives, supporters and patients also attended the celebration, which featured patient testimonials, heart-healthy food and the 2024 Red Dress Collection fashion show.
According to the American Heart Association, cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death for women in the United States. More women die from cardiovascular disease than from all types of cancer combined. However, only 44% of women recognize that cardiovascular disease is their biggest health threat.
“We want all women to put heart health first,” Villablanca said. “By raising awareness among women of all ages about the importance of prevention and dispelling the myth that women are less susceptible to heart disease, we can be even more successful in saving lives.”
A pioneer in cardiovascular care for women
Founded in 1994, the Women’s Cardiovascular Medicine Program at the University of California, Davis, is the nation’s first program dedicated to women-focused cardiac care, research, education, and community outreach.
The program provides comprehensive, woman-centered, individualized care, from prevention to advanced treatment. We provide care based on guidelines and with an emphasis on health equity at our specialized clinics for heart diseases that are unique to women or that occur more often in women. These include:
- Spontaneous coronary artery dissection
- Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and Takotsubo (stress) cardiomyopathy
- Angina syndrome with unoccluded coronary arteries and Prinzmetal’s angina
- peripartum cardiomyopathy
- Cardiovascular risks associated with pregnancy due to gestational hypertension, diabetes, and preeclampsia
- Arrhythmia such as atrial fibrillation
- Valvular heart disease including mitral valve prolapse
- Autonomic imbalance including POTS syndrome
Villablanca has led this program since its inception. She strives to increase awareness of the importance of women’s heart health among patients, healthcare providers, and policy makers.
Program outcomes include:
“For the past 30 years, Amparo has dedicated his life to patient care and ensuring the best outcomes,” said Jessica, a graduate of the University of California, Davis School of Medicine and a public health medical officer with the California Department of Public Health.・Nunez de Ibarra said. “She was a pioneer in medicine, and she highlighted the importance of women’s mental health not only by talking about it, but by living it.”
red dress collection
In 2010, the UC Davis Women’s Cardiovascular Medicine Program entered into a unique partnership with the UC Davis School of Design to help educate Northern California women, especially young women, about heart disease.
The focus of this awareness campaign is the University of California, Davis Red Dress Collection. This is an initiative in which fashion design students create a collection of red dresses with educational messages and reflecting the designers’ inspiration to use design in social consciousness to spread heart disease messages. It is the leading cause of death for women. Each dress expresses the student’s own design aesthetic and personality while encouraging a heart-healthy lifestyle.
Approximately 100 dresses have been made over the years. The latest design was unveiled at a recent gala.
Adele Chan, a fashion design lecturer at the University of California, Davis, a leader in the Red Dress Movement, and a longtime supporter of the Women’s Cardiovascular Program, said, “Design and medicine working together is the best in the nation.” “This can be a powerful force in the fight against a virus that is killing many women.”
proclamation of parliament
The highlight of the celebration was the appearance by Aaron Jones, an aide to Rep. Doris Matsui. The congressman read a declaration he delivered earlier in the day on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The declaration recognizes the program for its national leadership on one of the most critical health issues of our time: providing care to women with cardiovascular disease and training the next generation of health care professionals. be. Mr. Matsui then recorded the program in the Congressional Record.
“As we look to the future, we must continue gender-specific research and provide dedicated care to fill knowledge gaps so women can live longer, healthier lives.” said Villablanca.
For more information about the University of California, Davis Women’s Cardiovascular Medicine Program, please visit the program’s website. The program’s research fund is accepting donations through its online giving page.
