Video

Nurse Deanna Carlson
More From This Member

Expert Bio

VIDEO: Deanna Carlson, R.N., BSN, Explains What Age Women Should Start Having Heart Screenings

Do you know what age women should start getting hearts screenings?

Visit Deanna Carlson, R.N., BSN, on the web at St. Joseph Hospital Women’s Heart Center in Orange, CA

Deanna Carlson: Well, definitely everybody needs to have it by the age of 40 years old but my true hope and my true message out there is that you start when you are 20 or in your 20s because if you do have a problem then you can start making a difference right then and there instead of waiting till during your 40s and its way up there.

We’re still going to make a difference. We’re still going to begin it back down there but why not in your 20s so you can have a better productive life, and isn’t that what life is all about? We’re trying to live longer, live with better quality and … it’s because we have family and friends that we want to share it all with and I want to make sure that they lived the longest possible life that they can.

The Women's Heart Center program provides:

* Low-cost personal Heart and Vascular Screenings.
* Free heart and self-health risk assessments.
* Educational Seminars addressing nutrition, exercise and osteoporosis.
* Specialized in-hospital care for women admitted with heart disease.

"Symptom recognition is a key problem," says Women's Heart Center co-director Shalizeh Shokooh, M.D. "About one third of women don't experience the typical symptoms of heart disease that most men experience. Many women report having vague chest discomfort with a sudden onset of severe fatigue or shortness of breath."

"This is one of the reasons St. Joseph Hospital opened the Women's Heart Center," says co-medical director Warren Johnston, M.D. "Participation in the Center provides women with the heart-health protection they need." Women can attend a private heart-health screening provided by a highly trained cardiac registered nurse.