“This Will Have An Enormous Impact” Sherrill Hosts Facebook Live with Cardiology Expert on HEART Act
Parsippany, NJ— Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) held a Facebook Live discussion today with Linda D. Gillam, MD (Chair, Cardiovascular Medicine, Morristown Medical Center/Atlantic Health System) to discuss disparities in treatment and health outcomes for women suffering from cardiovascular disease and during cardiac events. The two also discussed the Congresswoman’s bill, the Heart Health Enhancement through Access to Research and Training (HEART) Act, which is part of her Jersey STRONG agenda, and the critical impact it would have in improving medical outcomes for women if enacted. Watch the conversationhere.
According to a 2022 report from the American Heart Association (AHA), a study found that only 22% of physicians and 42% of cardiologists said that they felt prepared to adequately assess heart disease specific to women. The AHA also reported that women who visited emergency departments with chest pain waited 29 percent longer than men to be evaluated for possible heart attacks. The same report found that women of color waited on average 15 minutes longer for an initial evaluation by a provider when presenting with chest pain.
The HEART Act establishes a grant program that will allow hospitals, community health centers, public health departments, and medical and health professional schools to design accredited Continuing Medical Education (CME) programs specific to heart disease in women to give our doctors the tools they need to treat women in our communities. Read more about the billhere.
Dr. Gillam is the Dorothy and Lloyd Huck Chair of Cardiovascular Medicine, Medical Director of the Cardiovascular Service Line for Atlantic Health System, and Professor of Medicine at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. Read more about Dr. Gillam’s background and experience here.Morristown Medical Center’s Cardiology and Heart Surgery Department is ranked in the top 50 in the U.S. Learn more here.
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