Winthrop Teaches Women How to be Heart Healthy

“Do you know who this is,” Winnie Lee, M.D. asked, pointing to an old black and white photograph projected on a screen. 

As the attending cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Lee led a discussion on the intricacies of heart diseases, as they affected different celebrities Thursday night at ’s Community Outreach Center.

The face belonged to actress Patty Duke, one of the first celebrities to be profiled for her heart health problems. “The risk factors for Patty included stress, smoking, hypertension, possibly high cholesterol, and definitely alcohol consumption,” Lee said. “All those things, especially when combined almost always compromise heart health.”

“The biggest problem with most women is that they often ignore their health because are usually too busy focusing on their family, their jobs or other factors in life. It’s not that women have an aversion to taking care of themselves – we often just don’t pay enough attention to ourselves.”

Such was the case with Nancy Black, the first featured speaker for the night. After giving an introduction on the personal story of one heart attack survivor, doctors went into a full on discourse on ways to prevent heart disease, heart attack and various other heart related illnesses.

One of the greatest ways to keep one’s heart strong and healthy was to maintain a healthy weight. However, in a country where population statistics show that every single state in the nation has at least 30 percent of their populations suffering from obesity, doctors realize that most Americans are either unable or unwilling to make the changes necessary to lose weight.

After Dr. Lee went into detail discussing a few of the most widespread heart diseases, Dr. Alexander Barken dove head first into surgical weight loss programs. 

“There are different methods for weight loss,” Barken, a Lap Band & Gastric Bypass Surgeon, said, “everything from placebos to gastric bypass surgery to laporoscopic gastric banding and vertical sleeve gastroectomy. There really is an option for most people out there, but none of this will work without proper diet and exercise. People really have to be committed to changing their lifestyle if they want to see lasting results.” 

About 20 women filled the room, ready to learn just what they can do to decrease their chances of suffering from heart ailments. Taking notes, most found that they held certain risk factors, putting them at higher risk for suffering from a cardiac disease. “It’s kind of scary to think that you might be at risk,” one audience member commented, “but hopefully we can learn what to do to prevent having any problems.”