Spectrum Health Offers Women’s Stress Testing Educational Program

Helping women understand the benefits and results of cardiac stress tests is the focus of a program on Thursday, November 5 at 7 p.m. at the Spectrum Health Fred and Lena Meijer Heart Center.

A stress test helps a physician determine how well a patient’s heart works. As a body works harder during a test, it requires more oxygen, which in turn requires the heart to pump more blood. Test results can tell a physician several things about how well the heart works and if blood supply to the heart’s muscle is being affected.

The program will be presented by Helayne Sherman, MD, PhD, cardiologist, West Michigan Heart, PC. Tours of the Richard and Helen DeVos Cardiac Diagnostic Unit will be offered prior to Dr. Sherman’s presentation. The program will be held in rooms 8811 and 8812 on the eight floor of the Meijer Heart Center, 100 Michigan St. NE.

Preregistration is required for this free session. Call (616) 267-2626, option 4, or toll free (877) 495-2626. Please state if you would like a tour when you call to register. Tour reservations are limited. For information about women and heart disease, visit spectrum-health.org/womenandheartdisease.

Spectrum Health is a not-for-profit health system in West Michigan that offers a full continuum of care through the Spectrum Health Hospital Group, a collection of seven hospitals and more than 140 service sites; the Spectrum Health Medical Group and mmpc, multispecialty physician groups with more than 400 providers; and Priority Health, a health plan with nearly 500,000 members. Spectrum Health’s 16,000 employees, 1,500 medical staff members and 2,000 volunteers are committed to delivering the highest quality care. The organization provided $111.1 million in community benefit during its 2008 fiscal year. As a system, Spectrum Health has earned more than 100 awards during the past 10 years.