Dr. Theresa Beckie Joins the Scientific Advisory Council of WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease

WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease recently invited University of South Florida College of Nursing Professor, Theresa Beckie, PhD, RN, FAHA, to serve on the organization’s Scientific Advisory Council (SAC) headquartered in Washington, D.C. As a leader in women’s cardiovascular research, and her longtime advocacy for women with heart disease, Dr. Beckie will provide input on public policy issues, educational programs, research initiatives and corporate partnerships.

“It is an honor to be invited to join such a prestigious organization, and work with distinguished colleagues that have made a great impact in the field of women’s heart health,” Dr. Beckie said. “As a SAC member I will provide input into research initiatives and clinical practice guidelines. Undoubtedly, this will in turn bring visibility to the scholarship that is taking place at the USF College of Nursing.”

Dr. Beckie will join nationally renowned colleagues on the SAC including the Chief of Cardiology for Grady Memorial Hospital, Nanette Wenger, MD, MACC, MACP, FAHA, the Director of Women’s Cardiovascular Services for UCSF Medical Center, Rita Redberg, MD, MSc, FACC, and the Director of Women’s Heart Center for Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, C. Noel Bairey Merz, MD. This distinguished group of nationally known experts in the field of women’s health help provide the organization with credibility among key constituencies including health care providers, Members of Congress, other policy makers, and most importantly, among the women living with heart disease.

Dr. Beckie has been studying heart disease in women for decades. She completed a National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) funded study that offered a cutting-edge, individualized approach to cardiac rehabilitation for women. In a randomized clinical trial, the motivationally-tailored program resulted in reduced depressive symptoms and improved quality of life in women completing their innovative program compared to women attending traditional cardiac rehabilitation. She has also examined the interactions between environmental exposures and genetic risk factors in women with heart disease. She is particularly interested in examining heart disease in young women from a psychoneuroimmunological perspective. Dr. Beckie’s research interests include secondary prevention, behavior change interventions, and genetic-environment interactions that influence women’s cardiovascular health.

WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease, which was founded in 1999 by three women who had heart attacks while in their 40s, is the only national patient-centered organization that focuses exclusively on women’s heart disease, according to the WomenHeart.org. For more than 14 years, the organization has provided education, support and hope to millions of women to ensure that every woman has access to prevention and early detection, accurate diagnosis and proper treatment, according to its website.