Barbara Roberts, MD Biography

 

Barbara Roberts has long been passionate about women’s rights and women’s health issues, especially heart disease.  “For many centuries, medicine has been controlled by men – most physicians were men and it was felt that you could study men and generalize those results to women.  But we know now that’s not the case,” she declares. 

 

As the first female adult cardiologist in the state who was also the first woman ever accepted into the Gorlin cardiology fellowship at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, a Harvard University Medical School Teaching Hospital- Roberts has dedicated her career to improving the cardiovascular health of women. 

 

She is currently director of the Women’s Cardiac Center at the Miriam Hospital and an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine for the Brown University Program in Medicine.  In addition, she has maintained a private cardiology practice since arriving in Providence in 1977. 

 

What is Heart Disease?

 

Heart disease is a term used to refer to diseases of the heart and blood vessel system. A more correct term is “cardiovascular diseases“, and includes such diseases as coronary heart disease, heart attack, high blood pressure, stroke, chest pain (also called “angina“), and rheumatic heart disease.

Coronary heart disease is the primary concern as it is the leading killer of Americans. It is a disease of the blood vessels of the heart that causes heart attacks. A heart attack happens when an artery becomes blocked, preventing oxygen and nutrients from getting to the heart. A stroke results from a lack of blood flow to the brain, or, in some cases, bleeding in the brain.

Risk factors make one more susceptible to getting heart disease. Risk factors are traits or lifestyle habits that make a person more likely to develop a disease. Some risk factors for heart disease cannot be changed, like older age or family history. Other risk factors can be changed, or at least modified. Take the on-line quiz to find out if you're at risk. Go to Women's Heart Checklist.

Some groups of women are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than other groups. Black women are 24 percent more likely to die of coronary heart disease than white women, and their death rate for stroke is 83 percent higher. Older women have a greater chance of developing cardiovascular diseases than younger women, partly because the tendency to have heart-related problems increases with age. Older women, for example, are more likely to develop high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol levels, to be diabetic, to be overweight, and to exercise less than younger women. Also, after menopause, women are more apt to get cardiovascular diseases, in part because their bodies produce less estrogen. Women who have had early menopause, either naturally or by means of hysterectomy, are twice as likely to develop coronary heart disease as women of the same age who have not begun menopause.

Changing Habits

 

As Americans have learned to control blood pressure, blood cholesterol levels, blood sugar (if diabetic) and make healthful lifestyle changes, in their smoking, eating and exercise habits, death rates for heart attack and stroke have dropped, but, cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death for American women. This website offers you some “self-help” strategies for a healthy heart, informs you of how heart disease affects women differently and connects you to resources to help you win the battle against America 's number one killer: heart disease.

But, here comes the hard part... How motivated are you to changing your habits? Perhaps you are pregnant and you want to have a healthy baby. Perhaps you had a recent physical and were told that you have high cholesterol or high blood pressure. Or, maybe you've noticed your energy level dwindling... you get short-winded easily and you just aren't feeling your best. Whatever the reason, you recognize the need for change. The next step is to ask yourself if you are ready to make heart-healthy changes.