Raising Heart Disease Awareness

by | Jan 29, 2018

Discover the importance of raising heart disease awareness in both women and men as National Heart Month is February.

Heart Disease and Valentines in February

The inaugural American Heart Month took place in 1964 thanks to a proclamation by President Lyndon B. Johnson. By joint resolution, Congress ensured that in future years, every President of the United States would officially announce February as Heart Month in order to raise heart disease awareness.

What happens exactly during Heart Month? It is time devoted annually to raise awareness of heart disease, the number one killer of women and men in the United States. Every year, the American Heart Association, in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health, reports on current heart disease statistics across the country. Their findings are quite staggering.

  • In the United States alone, more than 92 million adults are living with some form of heart disease or after-effects of a stroke.
  • One in every three deaths in the United States is from heart disease. This means more lives are lost due to heart disease than all forms of cancer and chronic respiratory disease combined.
  • Every day, about 2,200 people die from heart disease. This is an average of one death every 40 seconds.

The population that is affected dramatically: women. While both women and men can experience typical heart attack symptoms, such as chest pains and breaking out in a cold sweat, many women also describe symptoms that aren’t thought of when talking about a heart attack. They can have nausea, shortness of breath and/or pain or discomfort in their stomach, shoulders, jaw, neck or back. Unfortunately, women shrug off the warning signs and attribute these symptoms to something else entirely.

The following are statistics for women and heart disease.

  • After experiencing their first heart attack, women age 45 and younger are more likely than men to die within a year.
  • If a woman thought she was experiencing any heart attack signs, only 65 percent would dial 9-1-1.

During the last 15 years, education for women about heart disease risk has increased due to the Go Red Movement and National Wear Red Day, which takes place this year on Friday, February 2. However, even more needs to be done, particularly when it comes to prevention.

The American Heart Association has an initiative in place called “Life’s Simple 7®,” which looks at seven measures designed to improve the heart health of people living in the United States. The goal is to get more Americans heart healthy by reducing death from heart disease and stroke by 20 percent in two years. The 2020 Impact Goal tracks the following: control of cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar, not-smoking, physical activity, healthy diet and body weight.

At Risk for Congestive Heart Failure

At Chapters Health System and its affiliates — Chapters Helath Hospice, Good Shepherd Hospice, Hospice of Okeechobee, HPH Hospice and LifePath Hospice, we have seen a steady increase in patients with chronic congestive heart failure (CHF). It is a type of heart disease that cannot be cured. The pumping action of the heart is inadequate, causing blood to back up into the lungs. This makes it difficult to breathe (left-sided heart failure). Blood also backs up into the veins, causing swollen legs and feet (right-sided heart failure).

According to Emory Healthcare, nearly 5 million Americans are currently living with this form of heart disease, and approximately half a million new diagnoses are made every year. CHF is the primary diagnosis in 875,000 hospitalizations and most common in patients who are 65 years or older.

For CHF, the Cleveland Clinic reports this type of heart disease occurs in men and women equally, and the prevalence is higher in African-Americans, Hispanics and American Indians than in Caucasians. And the America Heart Association claims that 53,000 Americans die from CHF every year.

How Chapters Health System Can Help

At Chapters Health System, we recognize the unique needs of patients with heart disease such as CHF. Our At Home with CHF program was specifically developed to meet those needs and help patients decrease unwanted hospitalizations.

Our At Home with CHF program includes the following for patients diagnosed with CHF:

  • Initial and ongoing education is provided to patients and families to assist in controlling the symptoms of CHF. Patients can therefore remain more comfortable wherever they call home.
  • Patients receive a form and scale to record their weight. In addition, check-in calls are made to find out if patients have gained weight or had any change in symptoms.
  • Patients also receive a color-coded tool that helps them “grade” their symptoms so they know when to call  for help.
  • Patients have 24/7/365 access to the nursing hotline for immediate assistance with any change in their CHF symptoms, such as difficulty performing daily activities; increased shortness of breath; tightness in the chest; swelling of the feet, ankles or abdomen; and a rapid weight gain in one day of 3 pounds.

In addition, our hospice nurses are equipped to anticipate the needs and symptoms of CHF patients.

Chapters Health System is committed to serving the needs of its patients, families, caregivers, health providers, partners and communities.

Discover more details and information about care for patients with heart disease.

For more information, please call our helpful Chapters Health team at 1.866.204.8611 or Contact Us.

Phoebe Ochman

Phoebe Ochman

Phoebe Ochman, director of corporate communications for Chapters Health System, manages all content and communications for the nonprofit organization. Email: [email protected]

About Us

Established in 1983 as a community-centered, nonprofit entity, Chapters Health has grown exponentially through its radical approach to healthcare that leverages a one-of-a-kind system to support patients, families, and caregivers across the country, while remaining grounded in the mission of taking care of patients, or taking care of those who do®.

Learn More

Chapters Health System Announces Selection on Hospital and Health System CFOs to Know

Willamette Vital Health Finalizes Affiliation with Chapters Health System

Nathan Adelson Hospice Finalizes Affiliation with Chapters Health System

Andrew Molosky Makes Becker’s Hospital Review 2025 Great Leaders in Healthcare List

Andrew Molosky on podcast

John J. Whyte, MD, MPH

CEO and Executive President,
American Medical Association

John Whyte, MD, MPH serves as the CEO and Executive Vice President of the American Medical Association, the nation’s largest physician organization.

Prior to the AMA, Dr. Whyte served as the Chief Medical Officer at WebMD, leading initiatives that expanded strategic partnerships, created new business opportunities, and positioned WebMD at the forefront of digital health innovation. He was a pivotal force in evolving WebMD’s digital platforms from content delivery engines to powerful tools connecting consumers directly to care, establishing critical new revenue models. He is a recognized leader in healthcare delivery and regulation and is consistently named as one of the Top 20 Health Influencers.

Before joining WebMD, Dr. Whyte served as Director of Professional Affairs and Stakeholder Engagement at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. There, he spearheaded groundbreaking initiatives to modernize clinical trial design, expand diversity in research, and advance the regulatory use of real-world evidence — efforts that continue to impact patient-centered drug development today.

Earlier, as Chief Medical Expert and Vice President of Health and Medical Education at Discovery Channel, Dr. Whyte launched educational programming that captured both medical and mainstream audiences, successfully aligning mission-driven health education with corporate funding strategies and building new multimedia brand identities.

At the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Dr. Whyte played a pivotal role in formalizing Medicare’s national coverage decision process, directly shaping payment policies and advancing innovative models to improve healthcare outcomes. His experience at CMS demonstrates a deep understanding of health policy, reimbursement strategies, and the critical intersection of clinical innovation and payment models.

A board-certified internist, Dr. Whyte completed his MD at Hahnemann University School of Medicine, his residency at Duke University Medical Center and earned his MPH in Health Policy and Management at Harvard University. He previously served as a health services research fellow at Stanford University. An accomplished author, Dr. Whyte has written extensively for both professional and consumer audiences, including five best-selling book

Andrew Molosky on podcast

Dr. Venki Ramakrishnan

Nobel Laureate

Venki Ramakrishnan is an American and British molecular biologist who shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He currently works at the world-renowned MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England and from 2015-2020, he served as President of the Royal Society, one of the world’s oldest scientific organizations. He is best known for his work on protein synthesis, the process by which genetic information is used by the ribosome to make the thousands of proteins that make life possible. This process is fundamental to all life and its dysfunction leads to many diseases as well as to aging. He is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences and was knighted by the British government in 2012. In 2022, he received one of Britain’s highest civilian honors, the Order of Merit, which is restricted to 24 people across all fields.

In addition to his academic work, Ramakrishnan is a science partner of the venture capital fund Ahren Innovation Capital, and on the boards of the AI-based drug development company, Isomorphic Labs, and the British Library. He recently co-founded RNAvate, an RNA therapeutics company based on stable, next-generation RNA molecules. In the public arena, he played a leadership role when he was president of the Royal Society, including dealing with the consequences of Brexit and helping convene the Society’s response to provide advice during the covid pandemic and did a significant amount of public engagement including articles in the press and appearances on national media.

Ramakrishnan is the author of two popular books: Gene Machine (2018), a very frank scientific memoir about the race for the structure of the ribosome that led to the Nobel Prize; and Why We Die: The New Science of Aging and the Quest For Immortality (2024), which looks at the biology of aging and efforts to combat it.

Andrew Molosky on podcast

Marwa El-Menshawi, MD, MPH

Chief Operating Officer, PACE Chapters Health System

Marwa El-Menshawi, MD is the Chief Operating Office for Hope PACE. She is a triple board-certified physician, specializing in Family, Geriatric and Hospice Medicine. Dr. El-Menshawi's focus is on improving the lives of those affected by advanced age and serious illness through innovation in high complexity and value-based care. She has almost 20 years of clinical, academic and healthcare leadership experience.

Dr. El-Menshawi is a member of the American Academy of Family Medicine and the National PACE Association. She serves on the Mayor's Committee for Livability and Healthy Aging, focused on serving the community through advocacy and education, recommending and promoting programs and initiatives that benefit older adults.

Dr. El-Menshawi earned her Medical Doctorate as a Magna Cum Laude graduate from the University of Alabama School of Medicine and was awarded the distinguished membership into the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honors society, along with multiple academic achievement awards including the American Medical Women's Association Glasgow-Rubin Achievement Citation, the Merck Manual Award and the Peacock Teaching Fellowship. She completed her residency in Family Medicine and Certificate of Added Qualifications in Geriatric Medicine following a Geriatrics Fellowship at Advent Health in Orlando, FL. She serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Geriatrics at the Florida State University College of Medicine and an Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine.

Andrew Molosky on podcast

Andrew Molosky

President and CEO, Chapters Health System

Andrew Molosky is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Chapters Health System, the country's defining chronic illness organization, comprised of more than 30 different companies and programs, including the nation's largest nonprofit hospice network, PACE, value-based care such as CareNu, a Medicare Advantage plan, managed services organizations, technology solutions, advanced illness offerings, and more.
Established in 1983 as a community-centered, nonprofit entity, Chapters Health has grown exponentially through Molosky's innovative approach to healthcare, becoming a national leader recognized by Great Places to Work, Fortune, USA Today, and others for being a top place to work.
As a leading voice in healthcare, Molosky is routinely engaged as a consultant, speaker, and mentor. Molosky is modeling and leading across several industries concurrently.
Molosky has more than 20 years of experience spanning an array of geographies and organizations, including publicly traded, privately held, and nonprofit. He completed his undergraduate work at the University of Toledo and his Master of Business Administration from the Ken Blanchard College of Business at Grand Canyon University, additionally holding his Fellowship from the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Share This