Despite underestimations, heart disease is major threat to women.

While it's difficult to single out any one health issue that puts women today at risk, heart disease and stroke combined are the number one killer of women over 50. Women have historically underestimated their risk for heart disease, which is thought of as a man's disease. The truth is women are more likely to die within one year of a heart attack than men.

Luckily, that wasn't the case for Casandra Carroway after she collapsed on Christmas Eve in 2001. Following the immediate care she received at Kaiser Permanente's Los Angeles Medical Center, Carroway's health support network kicked in with the help of her personal physician, Roderick Spencer, MD an internist at Kaiser Permanente, Panorama City. It was her personal motivation along with a team of health care professionals ranging from cardiac surgeons to health educators and nutritionists that saved her life.

Kaiser Permanente offers a nationally recognized cardiac care program that includes extensive prevention and health education tools specially designed to help keep women healthy. Through an innovative database system that tracks member doctor visits, lab tests and pharmacy use, Kaiser Permanente medical professionals are able to identify those members who are at risk to have a heart attack or develop various chronic diseases. Physicians are notified regularly of those patients who are high risk. Also based on these risk categories, letters are sent to members to make them aware of potential health concerns and prevention and treatment options Kaiser Permanente recommends.

Should heart disease arise, Kaiser Permanente has proven excellence in clinical and post-operative care--beta blocker treatment and ongoing cholesterol screening. A recent study in Northern California showed Kaiser Permanente members in Northern California have a 30 percent lower chance of dying from heart disease than non-members.

Kaiser Permanente offers a broad range of personalized treatment and health education services that empower members to help manage their own care and make important lifestyle changes with support from various professionals who strive to understand their unique needs and concerns.

From prevention and early diagnosis to long-term and end-of-life (palliative care and hospice) care, Kaiser Permanente provides a full spectrum of quality care with a personal touch.

With a multitude of disciplines (physicians, nurses, social workers, health educators and nutritionists) working as a team, Kaiser Permanente is able to effectively care for the total well-being of members--mind and body.

"There are simply no other integrated health care organizations the size of Kaiser Permanente that are offering cardiac programs like ours," says Kathleen Ryman, MD, a cardiologist and "champion" (advocate and supporter of fighting heart disease) at Kaiser Permanente in Woodland Hills. "In our integrated model of health care, our Health Plan, hospitals and medical groups all work together to provide quality care." Dr. Ryman believes that the careful monitoring, outreach and support of heart patients has contributed to a marked decrease in re-hospitalization after a heart attack.

This article was provided by Kaiser Permanente in Woodland Hills.