February 6, 2012
COLUMBUS, Ohio – An Ohio State University Medical Center cardiologist is being honored at a red carpet awards ceremony by Woman’s Day magazine for her commitment to women’s heart health.
Dr. Martha Gulati, an honoree of the 2012 Woman’s Day Red Dress Awards which will be presented Feb. 15 at Lincoln Center in New York City. In years past, the ceremony has honored celebrities including TV personality Barbara Walters, fitness guru Denise Austin, and former first lady Laura Bush.
“I am honored to be among the women receiving this award, and I hope my research has contributed to women being more aware of their risk for heart disease and how to prevent it,” said Gulati, Ohio State Medical Center’s director of preventive cardiology and women’s cardiovascular health. “Women have worse outcomes if they are diagnosed with heart disease or undergo heart-related procedures. We are more likely to die from a heart attack than men, especially younger women. My goal is to help all women, through treatment, exercise and diet, prevent heart disease.”
Woman's Day magazine's 9th Annual Red Dress Awards will commemorate American Heart Month by honoring Gulati and other women who have made significant contributions to the fight against heart disease. Other honorees are Dr. Oz, Star Jones, Regina M. Benjamin, Laura Haywood-Cory and Katherine K. Leon. The Healthy Heart Award Recipient is Elizabeth Somer. Today’s Hoda Kotb will host the event with appearances by Sugarland, Jason Colon, Naturally 7, and DJ Mia Moretti and violinist Caitlin Moe.
Gulati is the principal investigator of the St. James Women Take Heart Project, a study examining cardiac risk factors in women. This study sets new standards for women’s fitness levels and has described what a woman’s heart rate response to exercise should be. Gulati is a co-investigator on the Women Ischemic Syndrome Evaluation and previously served as a co-investigator on the Women’s Health Initiative. She is a co-author of the 2007 guidelines published by the American Heart Association for heart disease prevention in women. She is also the author of Saving Women’s Hearts, which was published in 2011.
“Since Dr. Gulati joined our team at Ohio State, we have a greater sense of awareness of the need to address and test female patients differently based on their condition, symptoms and risk factors,” said Dr. William Abraham, director of the division of cardiovascular medicine and deputy director of Ohio State’s Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute. “Her expertise and dedication to female patients has made a tremendous impact on the treatment of women with cardiovascular disease.”
Gulati suggests that women might have such a high risk for heart disease because they try to be all things to all people. “It is especially important to remind women to take care of themselves first, so that they can then take care of their families,” she says.
Visit the Woman’s Day website for more information.
# # #
Contact: Gina Bericchia, Medical Center Public Affairs and Media Relations, 614-293-3737, or Gina.Bericchia@osumc.edu