On Tuesday, March 6, 2018, Houston Methodist Research Institute, in partnership with the Houston chapter of the National Federation of Business and Professional Woman’s Club (NFBPWC), sponsored the first annual Heart of a Woman conference. This conference was intended to educate the lay audience on the unique aspects of heart disease in woman and ways to diagnose, treat and prevent it. Dr. John P. Cooke and Dr. Karla M. Kurrelmeyer served as the program director and co-director, respectively, along with a planning committee that included Paola Ferrari, Maria Bush, Fadila Kibsgaard, and Lisa Lodge of NFBPWC. Distinguished speakers included faculty from the Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center and Spiritual Care and Education Center, as well as renowned experts in women’s heart health Dr. Martha Gulati from the University of Arizona Banner-University Heart Institute and Dr. C. Noel Bairey Merz from Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. A delegation of NFBPWC members from Rome, Italy were in attendance, along with the NFBPWC-USA president, Elisabeth Benham. The event was well attended by members of the community and Houston Methodist employees.
