Understanding a Woman’s Risk

An all-woman team is striving to diagnose heart disease in women sooner and treat them earlier. 

Women experience chest pain too. It’s a fact that cardiologist Renee Bullock-Palmer, MD, director of Deborah Heart and Lung Center’s Women’s Heart Center in Browns Mills, NJ, believes needs to be said because too many doctors are still dismissing concerned patients. 

There are also risk factors for heart disease specific to women that are just coming to light, including gestational diabetes and preeclampsia. The bottom line: Trust your instincts, she says. 

“If you’re not feeling well and you’re not getting answers, seek another opinion,” Bullock-Palmer says. 

Deborah® is a place where women across the heart health spectrum feel seen. Aside from treating patients, the team has also helped raise awareness both among the public and their fellow health care providers about the ever-evolving nuances of heart disease among women and the advances that are transforming treatment and saving lives. 

“You can’t remain stagnant in this field. There are always new things to learn,” Bullock-Palmer says. “I certainly think differently than I did just 10 years ago. Back then, we just looked at blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels. But we now know those measurements alone can contribute to an underestimation of a woman’s risk.” 

“With the latest technology,” she says, “we’re able to diagnose women earlier and, in turn, treat them sooner.” 

This is a paid partnership between Deborah Heart and Lung Center and Philadelphia Magazine