WomenHeart Announces 2017 Wenger Award Winners

WASHINGTON, April 26, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease, today announced the recipients of the 2017 Wenger Awards. Each year, the Wenger Awards honor those who have made extraordinary contributions to women's cardiovascular health. Awardees will be honored May 1^st at the 17^th Annual Wenger Awards Ceremony in Washington, D.C.

The Wenger Awards are named for Nanette Kass Wenger, MD, pioneer in women's cardiovascular medicine and research. This year's theme is "Bridging Communities: One Heart at a Time." Awardees were selected based on their outstanding efforts to connect with women in at-risk communities.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women. Although there is broad understandings of the higher cardiovascular risks faced by different ethnic and racial groups, advocates are also focusing on the impacts of social determinants for women in traditionally underserved communities.

"Women across the nation face unseen disparities in risk, access, care and outcomes," said Mary McGowan, CEO of WomenHeart. "Nowhere is this more true – or the consequences more dire - than in our nation's most vulnerable communities. This year's honorees have dedicated their careers to extending a bridge to those communities, so that women can have longer, healthier lives, no matter where they live."

The 2017 Wenger Award winners are:

Excellence in Public Policy -- Congresswoman Joyce Beatty
Representative Beatty has represented Ohio's Third Congressional District since 2013. A stroke survivor, Beatty serves as Co-Chair of the Congressional Heart and Stroke Coalition and with the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues. In the 115^th Congress, Beatty reintroduced the Return to Work Awareness Act of 2017, H.R. 1128, to improve the employability of individuals affected by heart attack, stroke or other serious health issues. Her bill has broad, bipartisan support and is supported by the American Heart Association and the National Stroke Association.

Excellence in Community Education -- Chickasaw Nation Medical Center
The Chickasaw Nation Medical Center (CNMC) is a 370,000 square-foot state-of-the-art health care facility located in Ada, Oklahoma. The Medical Center and its outlying clinics provide quality healthcare services to cardholders of any federally-recognized tribe at no cost. CNMC features a 72-bed hospital, level 3 emergency department, ambulatory care facility, diabetes care center, dental clinic, diagnostic imaging center, women's health center, administrative offices and tribal health programs, as well as a centrally located "town center" bridging the centers of patient care. WomenHeart is proud to have CNMC as a member of the WomenHeart National Hospital Alliance.

Excellence in Medical Leadership – Keith C. Ferdinand, MD, FACC, FASH, FNLA
Dr. Keith Ferdinand has dedicated his career to improving patient care and eliminating health disparities, regardless of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or gender. Dr. Ferdinand continues to focus on the well-being of the public in his home town with the Healthy Heart Community Prevention Program, and as a professor of medicine at the Tulane University School of Medicine Heart and Vascular Institute in New Orleans. He was Editor-in-Chief of the 2009 Educational Review Manual in Cardiovascular Disease; and co-author of Cardiovascular Disease in Racial & Ethnic Minorities; and the 2015 text, Hypertension in High-Risk African Americans. For several years he was co-chair of the American College of Cardiology's (ACC) Women's Health program and member of the ACC's Cardiovascular Disease in Women Committee. He has served on the boards of the Association of Black Cardiologists, the National Forum, the American Society of Hypertension, the Orleans Division of the American Heart Association, the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners and the International Society on Hypertension in Blacks.

Excellence in Research – Ileana Piña, MD, MPH
Ileana L. Piña, MD, MPH is a Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology & Population Health at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, NY.  She also serves as advisor/consultant to the Food and Drug Administrations' (FDA) Center for Devices and Radiological Health and their section of Epidemiology. Dr. Piña's research interests include transition of care in heart failure patients, and the role of natriuretic peptide-guided management for patients hospitalized for heart failure, biomarkers of myocardial stress and fibrosis in chronic heart failure, and the clinical implications of chronic heart failure phenotypes. She is the author/co-author of more than 100 publications.

The 17^th Annual Wenger Awards are sponsored by:
Novartis – Corporate Host
Burlington Stores
Amgen
Sanofi and Regeneron
Pfizer
Boston Scientific, Gilead, Janssen, Mylan, United Health Foundation
Abbott Vascular, Eli Lilly and Company, The Association of Black Cardiologists, The National Forum

About WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease
WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease is the nation's only patient centered organization serving the nearly 48 million American women living with or at risk for heart disease – the leading cause of death in 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, physicians, and health advocates, all committed to helping women live longer, healthier lives. To receive a free on line heart health action kit or to donate, visit www.womenheart.org.

SOURCE WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease