Women put their hearts into many things, whether it’s caring for their grandchildren, preparing a home-cooked meal, or volunteering in the community. But do they know that they also might be putting their hearts at risk for disease?

According to the American Heart Association, every year about half a million women die of heart disease. It has claimed the lives of more women than men every year since 1984. Dr. Kenneth Ford, a cardiologist with The Heart Group, wants to help reverse that trend. Recently, he was awarded a prestigious $50,000 grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb to continue his study of women and heart disease at Western Baptist Hospital. Because heart disease can have atypical symptoms in women, Dr. Ford has been conducting a study to determine which stress tests are the most accurate for diagnosing heart disease in women with low to medium risk factors. Initially, the study was approved for 100 patients, but has recently been expanded to include 250 patients.

According to Dr. Ford, the accuracy of stress-echo tests has been, as predicted, better than nuclear test results in women. Dr. Ford says that nuclear stress tests are still very valuable for many patients, but performing stress-echo tests on younger women can have real benefits.

“In women with an intermediate to low risk for coronary disease, the stress-echo has a fewer number of false positives, resulting in a fewer number of heart catheterizations,” says Dr. Ford.

The study began last January and should be completed within a year. Dr. Ford says the study potentially has nationwide effects on how physicians diagnose heart disease in women.

“Through our research with this study, we’re able to identify more effective ways to diagnose and treat women with heart disease,” Dr. Ford says. “It’s an important component to our overall cardiac program here at Western Baptist.”