"For women only: Get free screenings, hear renowned cardiologist at heart health forum at Staten Island University Hospital"

Submitted by Mastodon on Thu, 2014-02-27 04:42

Announcement here. Excerpt:

'Plenty of poetry and song have been dedicated to a woman's heart, but a little science is needed, too, because her heart is also at the center of the number one cause of death for women.

According to the American Heart and Stroke Association, heart disease, disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the No. 1 cause of death in American women, claiming over 400,000 lives each year, or nearly one death each minute.

In 2009, one in 30 female deaths was from breast cancer, but one in three was from cardiovascular disease.

Staten Island University Hospital will help women "Give Your Heart a Hand" at its women's heart health forum Thursday from 5 to 9 p.m. in the Regina McGinn MD Education Center. The event will provide the opportunity for a number of important screenings and the chance to hear a nationally known cardiologist and author.
...
Screenings will include blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, and body mass index (BMI).

Women taking advantage of the screenings will receive EKG, echocardiograms and ankle pulse ultrasounds if one of their screenings show they are at risk for heart attack or cardiac disease.

Nicotine patches will be available for free and activities will include stress reduction techniques. Healthy refreshments and raffles and prizes will also be part of the festive and informative night.'

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If you have ever asked yourself how or why is it that so many women in western society seem to have an entitlement attitude, you need look no further than Staten Island University Hospital. Free heart screenings. Free food. Free what, NICOTINE PATCHES??

Don't try going if you have a penis. You're liable to get arrested or something. And remember, when it comes not just to your heart health but your very life itself: you ain't worth 10% of a single woman. Well, at least, not if you ask the SIU Cardiology Dept. Go ahead, ask them.

SIUH Cardiology Dept.
in particular, the head of Cardiology:
Thomas Costantino MD

More contact info here, especially useful if you just plain want to let the administration in general know how you feel. I'd suggest the "Compliments, Complaints and Concerns" number.

If you decide to call, please remember to be polite. Possibly their main motivation is to scare up business as well as help improve lives. There is nothing wrong with either goal, really, except in that they are doing two things wrong: 1) From a business POV, they are closing out half their potential customers. If they think they can't get the same appeal to women by having a "general event", then why not have two events, one for women and another for men? In that light, the second thing they are doing wrong is by implication signalling to the community that men's lives matter less. By showing particular concern for women, by implication they show less for men. And indeed, when it comes to heart attacks, men still outnumber women substantially. So purely in terms of saving lives *and* scaring up business, why limit the effort?

Nothing says "reconsider" like appealing to financial interests as well as letting them know: "Hey -- I noticed what you did there, and I just plain old don't like it." They may not concede the point to you on the spot in order to save face, but believe me, it'll have an effect. Some facts to give them, straight from the CDC site:

http://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm:

  1. About 600,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year–that’s 1 in every 4 deaths.
  2. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. More than half of the deaths due to heart disease in 2009 were in men.
  3. Coronary heart disease is the most common type of heart disease, killing more than 385,000 people annually.
  4. Every year about 715,000 Americans have a heart attack. Of these, 525,000 are a first heart attack and 190,000 happen in people who have already had a heart attack.
  5. Coronary heart disease alone costs the United States $108.9 billion each year. This total includes the cost of health care services, medications, and lost productivity.

Men: http://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fs_men_heart.htm

Between 70% and 89% of sudden cardiac events occur in men.
...
CDC's Public Health Efforts

CDC's Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program
Since 1998, CDC has funded state health departments' efforts to reduce the number of people with heart disease or stroke. Health departments in 41 states and the District of Columbia currently receive funding. The program stresses policy and education to promote heart-healthy and stroke-free living and working conditions.

Million Hearts
Million Hearts is a national, public-private initiative of the Department of Health and Human Services to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes by 2017. Co-led by CDC and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the initiative brings together communities, health care professionals, health systems, nonprofit organizations, federal agencies, and private-sector partners to improve care and empower Americans to make heart-healthy choices.

Women: http://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fs_women_heart.htm

CDC's Public Health Efforts

Well-Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation (WISEWOMAN)
WISEWOMAN is a CDC program that helps women with little or no health insurance reduce their risk for heart disease, stroke, and other chronic diseases. The program assists women ages 40 to 64 in improving their diet, physical activity, and other behaviors. WISEWOMAN also provides cholesterol tests and other screening. CDC funds 21 WISEWOMAN projects in 19 states and two tribal organizations.

CDC's Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program
[As above]

Million Hearts
[As above] ..."

Yes, that entire special program as shown above found on the CDC site and, I feel, appropriately colored red (as in the Go Red for Women campaign/organization), to highlight the many freebies it is ready to supply women just because they are, well, female -- and to point out that its scope does not include men. That is, just as with SIU Hospital, the CDC has a special program for women, despite acknowledging that more men are not only likely to die from coronary disease but also a lot more likely to just plain suddenly drop dead from it without having shown any symptoms. And yet, the early-check campaigns all seem to be aimed at women, trying to encourage them to "check early and often" for signs of heart disease.

Last I checked, men's taxes financed the CDC too, as well as the rest of the US gov't. So why the hell aren't we getting equal access to services?

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Submitted by Matt on Fri, 2014-02-28 08:06