Overview
MSM’s Women With Heart Initiative and its donors provide gifts that make an incredible difference in the lives of MSM students, better enabling our institution to prepare them for lives of service while helping to develop the critical thinking skills necessary to succeed in an ever-changing and challenging work force.
One of those challenges is responding to the needs of communities at risk for heart disease, the number one killer of American men and women with significant disparities that Morehouse School of Medicine seeks to eliminate as we lead in the creation and advancement of health equity. For example:
- African American women are more likely to die from heart disease than women of any other race.
- Several female reproductive factors, including early menarche, early menopause and miscarriage, are associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease.
- Due to such patient-level barriers as multiple comorbidities, lack of social support, and family responsibilities, women are less likely than men to adhere to prescribed cardiac rehabilitation sessions.
