The Christ Hospital Heart & Vascular team has recruited many of the best heart specialists in the Greater Cincinnati region, most recently appointing a medical director for a groundbreaking new women's heart program.
Why is heart disease so critical for women and why has The Christ Hospital recruited a national leader in women's heart care?
Dean Kereiakes, MD: Not only are The Christ Hospital and Lindner Research Center internationally renowned for innovation and leading-edge technology, we are also focused on meeting the needs of our community. Exceptional heart care for women is one of those needs, and we are delighted to announce the addition of Odayme Quesada, MD, our new medical director for The Christ Hospital Women's Heart Center. She comes to us from The Barbara Streisand Women's Heart Center at Cedar's Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. Odayme is a recognized expert in women's heart health and an established clinical researcher who brings a prestigious million-dollar grant from the National Institutes of Health to lead The Lindner Research Center's efforts focused on heart disease in women. She has the expertise to distinguish this new center nationally, and is a wonderful, warm and thoughtful person. The Christ Hospital Women's Heart Center is the first truly-dedicated center for women with or at risk for heart disease.
How will Dr. Quesada and The Christ Hospital Women's Heart Center raise the bar for women's heart care in our region?
Odayme Quesada, MD: I'm thrilled to join The Christ Hospital team! As you know, cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of women in the US, and women more commonly have chest pain, and even damage to the heart without significant arterial blockage on an angiogram, known as Ischemia with No Obstructive Coronary Artery disease (INOCA). The Christ Hospital Women's Heart Center is dedicated to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart conditions more common in women and, therefore, largely understudied.
Women often need a second opinion on their heart care, especially women with persistent chest pain or shortness of breath who are told they don't have blockages in their heart arteries. They may, in fact, have coronary microvascular dysfunction, which we can diagnose through a specialized procedure called coronary reactivity testing, and advanced cardiac imaging, so that the appropriate, leading-edge treatments can be given. My passion is to bridge the gaps that exist in women's heart health and disease to make sure women—of all ages and across all walks of life—are correctly diagnosed, supported, and treated. For example, with my NIH research grant, we will better understand why and how women who develop preeclampsia in pregnancy have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease later in life.
Few centers around the country, or even the world, focus solely on women's cardiac care and The Christ Hospital now offers preeminent and dedicated cardiac care for women in the Tristate area. If you, or a woman you know, has chest pain, it's time to be evaluated by a woman's heart specialist at The Christ Hospital. For more information on treatment options, call 513-585-2140.