Events

Time: 6:30-7:30 p.m. (India) | 1:00-2:00 p.m. (GMT) | 9:00-10:00 a.m. (New York)

As COVID-19 has swept around the globe, physicians and public health experts have grown concerned that people are not seeking care for heart attack and stroke symptoms out of a fear of contracting the virus. Women make up the majority of essential workers during this pandemic, and may be less likely than their male counterparts to seek healthcare for themselves for a variety of social and economic reasons. In the United States and India cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women. Despite cardiovascular disease accounting for more deaths in women than breast cancer, cervical cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease combined, many women remain unaware of their personal risk for heart disease and stroke. Join our panel of experts as they discuss approaches to providing care and addressing women’s health during the current global pandemic.

About the Moderator:

Dr. Sonia Tolani is the Co-Director of the Women’s Heart Center at Columbia University and a part of the Hypertension Center. Dr. Tolani received her medical degree with honors from New York University School of Medicine. She completed her internship, medical residency, and her fellowship in cardiovascular medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City. As part of her cardiology fellowship, Dr. Tolani spent several years studying the interplay of cholesterol and inflammation and how this interaction impacts atherosclerosis. In addition to being a full-time clinician, she frequently appears in local and national media as an expert on preventative cardiology and women’s health. She also actively donates her time to community outreach programs aimed at educating women on the signs and symptoms of cardiovascular disease. Dr. Tolani's areas of expertise include consultative cardiology, preventative medicine, and women's health.

About the Speakers:

Dr. Jennifer Haythe is currently an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology, Center for Advanced Cardiac Care at Columbia and Co-Director of the Women’s Center for Cardiovascular Health. She graduated from Harvard University in 1995,and completed her medical school and residency training at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 2003. After finishing a congestive-heart failure-cardiac transplant fellowship at Columbia in 2005 she went on to complete her fellowship training in cardiovascular diseases there in 2009. Dr. Haythe specializes in pulmonary hypertension, heart failure, and cardiac transplant. She has a special interest in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) and the care of pregnant women with cardiovascular diseases.

Professor D. Prabhakaran is the Vice President- Research & Policy, Public Health Foundation of India, Executive Director of Centre for Chronic Disease Control, New Delhi, India and Professor (Epidemiology) London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK. A cardiologist and epidemiologist by training, Professor D. Prabhakaran’s work spans from mechanistic research to understand the causes for increased propensity of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) among Indians, to developing solutions for CVD through translational research and human resource development. Prof. Prabhakaran is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, UK, Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India, and an Adjunct Professor at the Emory University. He is member of Executive Council of the International Society of Hypertension (ISH) and Chair of the International Society of CVD Epidemiology and Prevention (ISCEP). He has mentored over 50 post-doctoral and doctoral students so far and has authored several chapters and scholarly papers. He was listed as the topmost researcher in Medicine in India terms of publications for the years 2009-2014 by Scopus and Department of Science & Technology, Government of India. He is also the lead editor of the Cardiovascular Disease Volume of the latest Disease Control Priorities Project.