To promote awareness of heart disease in women, ABC7 News On Your Side hosted a Women's Heart Health Phone Bank on Wednesday, February 11th as part of American Heart Month. News reporter, Jennifer Donelan, survived a heart attack at age 36 due to quick action from her colleagues and receiving immediate medical treatment. Donelan hosted ABC7's Women's Heart Disease phone bank, with a team of heart health experts on hand to answer caller's questions. Jannet Lewis, MD, participated in the phone panel representing GW Cardiology and the GW Heart & Vascular Institute. Heart disease is the number one killer of women, and causes one in three women's deaths each year.

On February 5th, the Women's Heart Center at the GW Heart & Vascular Institute sponsored an evening of cooking, wine and nutrition tips at L'Academie de Cuisine providing a Mediterranean diet cooking class. The Institute's dietician, Kelli Metzger, MS, RD, gave heart healthy tips on the Mediterranean diet. L'Academie professional chef, Danielle Turner, guided guests in cooking a fabulous meal while guests enjoyed wine parings. The event celebrated American Heart Month to bring awareness to women's heart heath. Guests of Scott Shapiro, MD, and Jannet Lewis, MD, participated in the program.

The GW Heart & Vascular Institute hosted visiting professor, Jagat Narula, MD, PhD, MACC, on February 11-12th. Dr. Narula, Associate Dean of Global Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Siniai, Professor of Medicine and Director of Cardiovascular Imaging Program, discussed his groundbreaking work "Reclassifying Cardiomyopathies" at GW Cardiology Grand Rounds, and "New Imaging Modalities to Predict Cardiac Events" at GW Medical Grand Rounds.

In 2015, "cholesterol is in." Saturated fats mainly from animal products, and excess carbohydrates are still "out." Lisa W Martin MD, the GW Heart & Vascular Institute's expert on cholesterol management, weighs in on the new guidelines released this month by the US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.* "There are little data to show increased heart attacks and strokes related to ingestion of eggs. Only small amounts of dietary cholesterol are absorbed from the gut into the body and there is minimal impact on heart artery plaque. Cholesterol-containing foods (eggs, shellfish) which are low in saturated fats are relatively safe for heart patients. In contrast, cholesterol-containing foods that are high in saturated fats (meat and dairy products) have been proven to be related to excess cardiovascular disease. The key message from the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Committee stresses that 'a healthy dietary pattern is higher in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low- or non-fat dairy, seafood, legumes, and nuts; moderate in alcohol (among adults); lower in red and processed meats; and low in sugar-sweetened foods and drinks and refined grains."  

*(The changes in recommendations will not be official until approval by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture.)