Having a Heart

Marquez Knolls Resident Addresses Women’s Heart Health at Symposium

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

For the sixth year, Marquez Knolls resident Nicole Weinberg, a cardiologist with The Women’s Heart Center at Pacific Heart Institute, is assisting in coordinating the Women’s Heart Symposium—bringing awareness to heart disease.

Heart disease is the number one killer of women, attributed to one in three women’s deaths, affecting 43 million women, with 90 percent at risk, according to the website of Have a Heart, Save a Heart—a nonprofit founded in part by Weinberg.

This year’s event, which will take place on Saturday, February 2, at Casa del Mar Hotel in Santa Monica, will focus on toxins and heart health, with a “trailblazing” speaker coming in from San Diego.

“What if we could get everyone—really the nitty gritty—what you need to take care of yourself to avoid heart disease?” Weinberg, who has been a cardiologist for 14 years, said ahead of the event.

This is exactly the information that her and her team, including two other female cardiologists at her practice, are hoping to spread.

“We just try to emphasize heart disease is the leading cause of death in men and in women, and a lot of things steering the ship are identifiable and preventable,” Weinberg shared.

Each year, the event draws about 200 medical practitioners—ranging from doctors to nurses to psychologists to interested patients and community members. The Women’s Heart Center has teamed up with its Have a Heart, Save a Heart nonprofit, which works to raise awareness about women’s heart disease, to make the symposium possible.

In addition to lectures and guest speakers, attendees will have a chance to ask questions and “make sure they are getting all the information that they need.”

Weinberg shared that one of the focuses is the interplay of various factors on health, including how the fires and eating organic affect the heart. There will be medical experts on hand to present scientific-based data.

“We are really looking forward to spreading the word about heart disease awareness in a groundbreaking and unique way,” Weinberg said.

This year’s event is nearly sold out, but those who are interested in giving to the program can visit haveaheartsaveaheart.org.