Contributing Author: Dr. Bonni Cohen, PhD(c), DNP, APRN, ANP-C, FNP-C, CNE, FAANP, FNU Associate Professor and Course Coordinator
February is American Heart Month and the time for everyone to take a closer look at their cardiovascular health. Heart disease is sometimes thought of as a man’s disease, but an equal number of women and men die each year of heart disease in the United States. Frontier Nursing University (FNU) is dedicated to promoting optimal health and educating our community on ways you can manage your health and prevent disease on your own and with the help of nurse practitioners and nurse-midwives. Our dedicated faculty members, including contributing author Dr. Bonni Cohen, PhD(c), DNP, APRN, ANP-C, FNP-C, CNE, FAANP, are practicing practitioners who are continually educating themselves on the latest health care guidelines and research. Dr. Cohen is a strong cardiovascular advanced practice nurse who teaches cardiovascular course content in FNU’s top ranked Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) program.
FACT: One in five American women will die from heart disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“Despite there being more awareness of the signs and symptoms of heart disease over the last decade, the CDC states that only about 56% of women recognize that heart disease is their number one killer,” Dr. Cohen said.
Risk Factors:
- Diabetes
- Overweight or Obesity
- Eating an unhealthy Diet
- Physical Inactivity
- Drinking too much alcohol
“There are many risk factors but even more simple steps you can take to make a huge difference in your heart health,” Dr. Cohen said.
The good news? You can take small steps to improve your heart health every day.
1. Eat a heart healthy diet. Choose low sodium and salt foods; limit foods that have trans fat, like pastries and fried food; and cut back on sugar.
2. Manage your health conditions. Take your medicines as directed and get your blood pressure and cholesterol tested regularly. If you have diabetes, check your blood sugar level on a regular basis.
3. Know the facts about aspirin. Some people take aspirin every day to help prevent a heart attack or stroke, but it is not right for everyone. Ask your healthcare provider if you should use aspirin.
4. Know the signs of a heart attack in women, including:
Heavy ache (dull or sharp) in your chest or back between your shoulder blades
- Pain in your neck, jaw or throat
- Pain in your upper abdomen or back
- Shortness of breath
- Breaking out in a cold sweat
- Unusual or unexplained tiredness
- Feeling dizzy or light-headed
- Nausea/Vomiting
While the most common symptom for both women and men is chest discomfort, you can have a heart attack without experiencing chest pain or pressure. Women are more likely to have other symptoms such as back pain, jaw pain, shortness of breath, indigestion, and nausea or vomiting.
5. Quit Smoking. If you don’t smoke, don’t start. If you do smoke, learn the ways available to quit.
6. Manage stress levels by finding healthy ways to cope with stress: Meditation, Yoga, Massage.
“I strongly recommend talking with your healthcare provider about your heart health, even if you don’t think you are presenting any symptoms,” Dr. Cohen said. “As a practitioner myself, we would rather you come to us for preventative care rather than seeing us once you sense there is a problem.”
Did you know you can see your nurse practitioner for heart health? According to the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), almost 12,500 nurse practitioners have a clinical focus in cardiology. Nurse practitioners aim to focus on preventative care and educate their patients, improving their patient’s long-term health.
FNU raised awareness for heart disease on National Wear Red Day, February 4th by having faculty and staff members wear red. National Wear Red Day occurs on the first Friday in February each year.
To learn more about heart disease and what you can do to improve your heart health, go to the FDA Office of Women’s Health website. This February and beyond, protect your heart by making good heart health decisions!
Carrie Belin is an experienced board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and a graduate of the Johns Hopkins DNP program, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Georgetown University School of Nursing, and Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She has also completed fellowships at Georgetown and the University of California Irvine.
Angie has been a full-scope midwife since 2009. She has experience in various birth settings including home, hospital, and birth centers. She is committed to integrating the midwifery model of care in the US. She completed her master’s degree in nurse-midwifery at Frontier Nursing University (FNU) and her Doctorate at Johns Hopkins University. She currently serves as the midwifery clinical faculty at FNU. Angie is motivated by the desire to improve the quality of healthcare and has led quality improvement projects on skin-to-skin implementation, labor induction, and improving transfer of care practices between hospital and community midwives. In 2017, she created a short film on skin-to-skin called 
Justin C. Daily, BSN, RN, has ten years of experience in nursing. At the start of his nursing career, Justin worked as a floor nurse on the oncology floor at St. Francis. He then spent two years as the Director of Nursing in a small rural Kansas hospital before returning to St. Francis and the oncology unit. He has been in his current position as the Chemo Nurse Educator for the past four years. He earned an Associate in Nurse from Hutchinson Community College and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Bethel College.
Brandy Jackson serves as the Director of Undergraduate Nursing Programs and Assistant Educator at Wichita State University and Co-Director of Access in Nursing. Brandy is a seasoned educator with over 15 years of experience. Before entering academia, Brandy served in Hospital-based leadership and Critical Care Staff nurse roles. Brandy is passionate about equity in nursing education with a focus on individuals with disabilities. Her current research interests include accommodations of nursing students with disabilities in clinical learning environments and breaking down barriers for historically unrepresented individuals to enter the nursing profession. Brandy is also actively engaged in Interprofessional Education development, creating IPE opportunities for faculty and students at Wichita State. Brandy is an active member of Wichita Women for Good and Soroptimist, with the goal to empower women and girls. Brandy is a TeamSTEPPS master trainer. She received the DASIY Award for Extraordinary Nursing Faculty in 2019 at Wichita State University. 
Dr. Sabrina Ali Jamal-Eddine is an Arab-disabled queer woman of color with a PhD in Nursing and an interdisciplinary certificate in Disability Ethics from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). Dr. Jamal-Eddine’s doctoral research explored spoken word poetry as a form of critical narrative pedagogy to educate nursing students about disability, ableism, and disability justice. Dr. Jamal-Eddine now serves as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in UIC’s Department of Disability and Human Development and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities (NOND). During her doctoral program, Sabrina served as a Summer Fellow at a residential National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) Summer Institute at Arizona State University (2023), a summer fellow at Andrew W. Mellon’s National Humanities Without Walls program at University of Michigan (2022), a Summer Research Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Othering & Belonging Institute (2021), and an Illinois Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities (LEND) trainee (2019-2020).
Vanessa Cameron works for Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nursing Education & Professional Development. She is also attending George Washington University and progressing towards a PhD in Nursing with an emphasis on ableism in nursing. After becoming disabled in April 2021, Vanessa’s worldview and perspective changed, and a recognition of the ableism present within healthcare and within the culture of nursing was apparent. She has been working since that time to provide educational foundations for nurses about disability and ableism, provide support for fellow disabled nursing colleagues, and advocate for the disabled community within healthcare settings to reduce disparities.
Dr. Lucinda Canty is a certified nurse-midwife, Associate Professor of Nursing, and Director of the Seedworks Health Equity in Nursing Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Columbia University, a master’s degree from Yale University, specializing in nurse-midwifery, and a PhD from the University of Connecticut. Dr. Canty has provided reproductive health care for over 29 years. Her research interests include the prevention of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, reducing racial and ethnic health disparities in reproductive health, promoting diversity in nursing, and eliminating racism in nursing and midwifery.
Dr. Lisa Meeks is a distinguished scholar and leader whose unwavering commitment to inclusivity and excellence has significantly influenced the landscape of health professions education and accessibility. She is the founder and executive director of the DocsWithDisabilities Initiative and holds appointments as an Associate Professor in the Departments of Learning Health Sciences and Family Medicine at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Nikia Grayson, DNP, MSN, MPH, MA, CNM, FNP-C, FACNM (she/her) is a trailblazing force in reproductive justice, blending her expertise as a public health activist, anthropologist, and family nurse-midwife to champion the rights and health of underserved communities. Graduating with distinction from Howard University, Nikia holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and a master’s degree in public health. Her academic journey also led her to the University of Memphis, where she earned a master’s in medical anthropology, and the University of Tennessee, where she achieved both a master’s in nursing and a doctorate in nursing practice. Complementing her extensive education, she completed a post-master’s certificate in midwifery at Frontier Nursing University.
Dr. Tia Brown McNair is the Vice President in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Student Success and Executive Director for the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in Washington, DC. She oversees both funded projects and AAC&U’s continuing programs on equity, inclusive excellence, high-impact practices, and student success. McNair directs AAC&U’s Summer Institutes on High-Impact Practices and Student Success, and TRHT Campus Centers and serves as the project director for several AAC&U initiatives, including the development of a TRHT-focused campus climate toolkit. She is the lead author of From Equity Talk to Equity Walk: Expanding Practitioner Knowledge for Racial Justice in Higher Education (January 2020) and Becoming a Student-Ready College: A New Culture of Leadership for Student Success (July 2016 and August 2022 Second edition).