15th Annual Wenger Awards Honors Those Making Extraordinary Contributions To Advancing Women's Heart Health

WASHINGTON, April 28, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/-- Two individuals, an organization and a group of courageous women heart patients were honored tonight for their leadership in advancing women's heart health at the 15^th annual Wenger Awards, at the East Hall at Union Station in Washington, DC. WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease hosts the Wenger Awards annually in recognition of those who have made extraordinary contributions to women's heart health. Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in women, with 1 in 3 women dying from heart disease every year.

"We are honored to recognize the 2015 Wenger awardees for their major contributions to women's heart health," said Mary McGowan, Chief Executive Officer of WomenHeart. "It is exciting to look forward to how these awardees and their peers will continue to support women living with heart disease in the future and advance the science of women's cardiovascular disease," McGowan added.

The Wenger Awards are named for Nanette Kass Wenger, MD, pioneer in women's cardiovascular medicine and research. The Wenger Awards is the only national recognition for those who are making extraordinary contributions to women's heart health. This year's honorees are:

Lesley Stahl
CBS News 60 Minutes Correspondent
Wenger Award for Excellence in Communications
Lesley Stahl was honored for educating viewers about the importance of sex differences in medical and scientific research in her 60 Minutes report: 'Sex Matters: Drugs can affect sexes differently' which contributed to a dramatic increase in awareness of the importance of sex differences to women's cardiovascular health.

The news report, which initially aired on February 9, 2014, addressed medication variations, physiologic changes, and even Food & Drug Administration oversight as it relates to women. It raised awareness among legislators, regulators, industry and healthcare providers about the importance of sex differences when doing research, prescribing treatment and educating about cardiovascular disease.

Lesley Stahl is one of America's most recognized and experienced broadcast journalists, and her career has been marked by political scoops, surprising features, and award-winning foreign reporting. She has been a correspondent for 60 Minutes since 1991. Prior to that, she served as CBS News White House correspondent. During much of that time, she was also the moderator of CBS News' Face the Nation. She has received numerous awards and recognitions for her journalistic achievements, including several Emmy Awards.  

Janine A. Clayton, MD
Director, Office of Research on Women's Health
Associate Director for Research on Women's Health
National Institutes of Health
Wenger Award for Excellence in Public Service
Dr. Janine Clayton, who is a board-certified ophthalmologist, was honored for her dedication to addressing sex differences in medicine throughout her tenure at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

In a May 2014 article in the journal Nature entitled 'Policy: NIH to balance sex in cell and animal studies,' Dr. Clayton and NIH Director Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, unveiled new NIH policies to ensure that pre-clinical research funded by NIH considers females and males. The new policies will require NIH research grant applicants to report their plans for the balance of male and female cells and animals in pre-clinical studies in all future applications.

Dr. Clayton became Director of the Office of Research on Women's Health and Associate Director for Research on Women's Health at NIH in 2011. Before that, she was Deputy Director of the Office of Research on Women's Health at NIH from 2008-2011, and Deputy Clinical Director of the National Eye Institute at NIH from 1994-2008.

She is the author of more than 80 scientific publications, journal articles and book chapters, and has received numerous awards and recognitions from NIH and other institutions, including the senior achievement award from the Board of Trustees of the American Academy of Cardiology.

Her research, publications, partnerships with other researchers, speaking engagements and interviews with the media reflect her commitment to improving the representation of women in clinical trials.

Edwards Lifesciences
Wenger Award for Excellence in Corporate Leadership
Edwards Lifesciences was honored for its dedication to patients with heart disease around the world through its generous corporate giving program, which places a particular emphasis on heart valve patients, as well as heart patients who are critically ill and those who are underserved due to lack of awareness of, or lack of access to, medically appropriate heart-related healthcare.

Last year, Edwards Lifesciences launched Every Heartbeat Matters, a program to educate, screen and treat 1 million underserved people by 2020 to reduce the global burden of heart valve disease. Every Heartbeat Matters supports both clinical and public education to improve diagnosis and treatment of underserved heart valve disease patients.

Every Heartbeat Matters enhances efforts to raise awareness of heart disease, self-screening tools, treatment options, and prevention opportunities. Support provided by Every Heartbeat Matters is enabling WomenHeart to partner with hospitals committed to gender-specific cardiovascular care in underserved areas through its National Hospital Alliance program. 

Edwards Lifesciences not only supports the work of many nonprofits through Every Heartbeat Matters and other charitable programs, but additionally, encourage their employees to volunteer and participate in corporate giving. Through their many corporate giving efforts, they have considerably expanded awareness, education and direct care of patients with cardiovascular disease.

Women Medical Research Participants
Wenger Award for Excellence in Advancing Research
Women who have participated in medical research to advance women's heart health were honored for their selfless contributions to help further the knowledge of how to prevent and treat heart disease in women. Thanks to these women's willingness to participate in pre-clinical research and clinical trials, researchers are learning more about how cardiovascular drugs, devices and diagnostics on women, and treatments for women with heart disease are improving, and ultimately saving more lives.

Historically, women with heart disease have faced misdiagnosis, social isolation and inadequate treatment. By increasing the participation rate of women in clinical trials, the medical community is gaining a greater understanding of the differences between women's heart disease and men's heart disease. This, in turn, is enabling them to better recognize the symptoms of heart disease in women and spur the development of drugs and devices designed specifically to treat women with heart disease. Women with heart disease who have enrolled in clinical trials have paved the way for the progress that has been made to improve the detection and treatment of heart disease in women.

WomenHeart Champions Katherine Leon, Brandie Taylor and Joyce Fairman will accept the award on behalf of all women who have participated in clinical trials. WomenHeart Champions, 690 strong, are women heart disease survivors who have been trained by WomenHeart as community educators, advocates and Support Network Coordinators at WomenHeart's renowned annual Science & Leadership Symposium at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.

To arrange interviews, please contact Eva Maciejewski at (202) 464 8737 or [email protected]

WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease is the nation's only patient centered organization serving the 42 million American women living with or at risk for heart disease – the leading cause of death for women. WomenHeart is solely devoted to advancing women's heart health through advocacy, community education, and the nation's only patient support network for women living with heart disease. WomenHeart is both a coalition and a community of thousands of members nationwide, including women heart patients and their families, healthcare professionals, and health advocates, all committed to helping women live longer, healthier lives. To join or donate, visit www.womenheart.org.

The 15^th Annual Wenger Awards is sponsored by Gilead (Corporate Host); Astra Zeneca; Pfizer, Inc.; Novartis; Micell Technologies; Amgen; Merck; Eli Lilly; Burlington; Janssen; the American Society of Echocardiography; Abbott Vascular; St. Jude Medical Foundation; Boehringer Ingelheim; the American College of Cardiology; an anonymous sponsor; the Personal Care Products Council; Sexy Hair; Morgan, Lewis & Brockius LLP; Catherine and Timothy Thompson; Rochester Marriott, MN   

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150428/212036

SOURCE WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease

Related Links

http://www.womenheart.org