A new South Florida clinic created by female cardiologists is focusing specifically on women’s heart health. The concept has long been the dream of Dr. Abbe Rosenbaum with the MyCardiologist practice. Although awareness of heart disease risk in women has increased, Rosenbaum said it’s still not equal to men and Rosenbaum said many women don’t know about non-traditional risk factors facing females.
“There are the traditional risk factors, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, inactivity, excess weight and then there are the ones that are specific to women, early menopause, meaning before the age of 45, women who’ve had complications with their pregnancy, eclampsia, pre-eclampsia, high blood pressure, gestational diabetes. Women who have autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, lupus have an increased risk, and women who’ve received treatment for breast cancer whether it’s chemotherapy or radiation to the left side of the chest,” she said.
Rosenbaum and her colleagues have designed a special risk assessment test for women.