Holy Spirit Hospital: A Renewed Focus on

Womens Heart Health

The statistics about heart disease in this country, especially among women, startle.

Every minute in the United States, someone's wife, mother, daughter or sister dies from
heart disease, stroke or another form of cardiovascular disease (CVD). More than one in
three women is living with CVD, including nearly half of all African-American women

and 34 percent of white women (Women and Heart Disease, 2014, para 1).
Although heart disease is sometimes thought of as a "man's disease," around the same
number of women and men die each year of heart disease in the United States (Women

and Heart Disease Fact Sheet, 2016, para 1).

Heart disease is the number one cause of death among women in the United States
(Heart Health and Stroke, 2009, para 1).

Harrisburg needs greater awareness, increased testing, and promotion of a healthy lifestyle to
combat this epidemic.
Holy Spirit Hospital at the Forefront
Holy Spirit Hospital is the leading cardiovascular hospital in the greater Harrisburg area.
Its use of advanced technology and the best and brightest cardiologist in the region makes Holy
Spirit the center for heart health in Pennsylvania (In-Depth Cardiology Expertise, 2016, para 1).
Holy Spirit understands that a womans heart health needs special focus because of the
misconception that heart issues are mainly a problem for men (ibid., para 7).

In the coming year, Holy Spirit needs to focus its communication resources on bringing
attention to this vital issue again. This renewed focus is necessary because, Although heart
disease death rates among men have declined steadily over the last 25 years, rates among women
have fallen at a slower rate (Women and Heart Disease, 2014, para 1). Also, while the medical
community has made great strides among males, the education and testing of women lag behind.
Despite increases in awareness over the past decade, only 54% of women recognize that heart
disease is their number 1 killer (Women and Heart Disease Fact Sheet, 2016, para 1).

This map of the U.S. published by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reveals that the area
surrounding Harrisburg has one of the highest concentrations of heart disease among women in
the country (Women and Heart Disease Fact Sheet, 2016). As the premier cardiology center in

the area, Holy Spirit Hospital must develop a communication strategy to impact this vital
demographic.
The primary focus of this campaign should be to increase awareness and testing among
women in the greater Harrisburg area, with a special emphasis on African-American women.
Men should also be appealed to, as husbands, to encourage their wives to get regular testing.
Lastly, another important public that should be considered is the areas general practitioners who
see these women on a regular basis. Their participation and encouragement to their patients to
get testing and to adopt a heart-healthy lifestyle is essential.
Research needs to be done to determine the best channels for communication on this
issue and to determine the most effective points of emphasis. A survey of the surrounding
counties as well as a panel study would be invaluable as the foundation of this campaign. Simple
promotion of an active lifestyle needs to be a point of emphasis. Like being overweight, lack of
physical activity raises your heart disease risk even if you have no other risk factors. Being
inactive also increases your chances of developing high blood pressure and diabetes (Heart
Health and Stroke, 2009, para 7). To turn the tide, we must help women in the Harrisburg area
discover small, simple ways to improve their heart health.
Holy Spirit Hospital impacts this issue in ways that no other hospital in this area does.
Years of excellence in cardiovascular medicine give it a strong voice among women. Together,
we can build a communication plan that saves womens lives.

References
Heart Health and Stroke. (2009). Womenshealth.gov. Retrieved from
http://womenshealth.gov/heart-health-stroke/heart-disease-risk-factors/heart-disease-riskfactors-you-can-control.html
In-Depth Cardiology Expertise. (2016). Holy Spirit. Retrieved from
http://www.hsh.org/cardiology.
Women and Heart Disease. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Advocate
/IssuesandCampaigns/QualityCare/Women-and-Heart-Disease_UCM_430484_
Article.jsp#.V4KbRbgrLb0
Women and Heart Disease Fact Sheet. (2016). Center for Disease Control. Retrieved from
http://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/data_statistics/fact_sheets/docs/fs_women_heart.pdf