Women's Heart Health Research

Research in collaboration with Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation:             

-Ruth Lindquist, PhD, RN
-Denise Windenberg, BA  

Poster Presentation at the National PCNA conference: The Women’s Heart Health Program at ANW.

Poster Presentation: Is Framingham scoring as predictive for men as for women? The Framingham Study sought to determine the most accurate means of calculating the risks of heart disease in women.

Life Style Reduction (LSR) of Stress Pilot (“Lesser Stress”): This pilot study tests the feasibility and potential efficacy of 3 interventions designed to reduce psychosocial stress including social support group for women only; self-care stress reducing web-based strategies; and mindfulness-based stress reduction. Psychological, physiological and biomarkers before and after participation are collected. (Three abstracts were accepted in August 2007 for poster presentations in September 2007 to Women's Powell Center of Excellence and two abstracts to "2007 Current Issues in Clinical Research," at the Convention Center sponsored jointly by The University of Minnesota Academic Health Center, its Office of Clinical Research, and Mayo Clinical Trial Services.) Abstracts include:

• “Re-envisioning Support Groups for Women with Coronary Artery Disease”
• “Exploration of the Use of a Program of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction to Reduce Risk in Women with Coronary Artery Disease”
• “Development of a Stress Reduction Website for Patients with Coronary Artery Disease”
• “Pilot of an All-Women Support Group to Reduce Cardiovascular Risks and Psychosocial Stress in Women with Coronary Artery Disease”
• “Stress Reactivity: Evaluating Impact of Beta-blocaker Therapy on Cardiovascular Response to Psychoscial Stress amoung Patients with Coronary Artery Disease”

Women Care Survey: Designed to gather information regarding women’s current perceptions of care and to gain their perspectives as to how their care at Abbott Northwestern Hospital and the Minneapolis Heart Institute may be improved and better tailored to their special needs related to their heart health. (in process)

Stress Cardiomyopathy (broken heart syndrome):  designed to study and understand the cause and course of stress cardiomyopathy and to improve the care and outcomes of patients with this condition. Women account for 95% of this population.

AWARE: Angiogenesis in Women with Angina pectoris who are not optimal candidates for REvascularization. This is a randomized, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the efficacy of Ad5 FGF-4 (gene therapy) in women with coronary artery disease and stable angina.

Turning Point: This study for women is designed to reduce major coronary events and deaths in the years after admission for acute coronary syndrome or ST-elevation myocardial infarction. Clinic follow-up for aggressive risk factor management coupled with web-based stress reduction is compared with usual care to determine the relative efficacy on patients’ morbidity and mortality. (in process of seeking funding).

HEARTEN: This randomized clinical trial proposes to compare the benefits of aerobic training vs. stress management vs. usual care in women with known heart disease. Biological and physiological subclinical markers of coronary artery disease will be measured and changes based on assigned conditions will be determined annually for three years (submitted for NIH Funding).