By Donnica L. Moore, M.D.
Sister to Sister’s new campaign encourages American women to remember the “forgotten fat” when managing their heart-health!
Since 2000, Sister to Sister has screened more than 30,000 women for heart disease. Now the only national non-profit organization dedicated to screening and educating women about cardiovascular disease has launched a new campaign to educate women with the latest knowledge about total lipid control: The Good, Bad, and Forgotten Fat.
Lipid is a term describing fats in the blood such as cholesterol and triglycerides. The campaign focuses beyond the commonly discussed “good” (HDL) and “bad” (LDL) lipids and highlights the importance of controlling triglycerides, or the “forgotten fat.” Through a national public service announcement, an educational website, www.forgottenfat.com, and free heart health screenings, we’re working to make women aware of triglycerides, which are an independent risk factor for heart disease.
Triglyceride levels below 150 mg/dL are considered normal. Elevated triglycerides are an even more significant risk factor for women than men. In fact, an increase in triglyceride levels of 88 points increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease by 37% for women, compared to 14% for men.
One of the best tools we have against heart disease is education. I’m passionate about women’s health and there is no issue that is more important to women than heart disease.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for American women, killing more than 10 times as many women each year as breast cancer. With The Good, The Bad and The Forgotten Fat campaign, we want women to focus on preventive action. Once women identify their risks, they can implement small changes to protect and improve their heart health.
We encourage all patients to talk to their healthcare providers about how to maintain a healthy lipid profile, including triglycerides. Learn more about “the forgotten fat” and access valuable heart-healthy tips and tools at www.forgottenfat.com.
Dr. Donnica Moore, best known as “Dr. Donnica,” is highly regarded as a women’s health expert, advocate and educator. She is the President of Sapphire Women’s Health Group LLC, a multimedia women’s health education and communications firm. She is also President of DrDonnica.com, a popular women’s health information Web site. Dr. Moore has appeared in more than 500 television interviews on women’s health topics including her role as the women’s health contributor for NBC’s Later Today and guest appearances on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and “The View.” In addition, she has contributed to 40 professional publications all focusing on women’s health and career issues. She is currently a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Women’s Health and is the “Doctor on Call” columnist for First for Women magazine.
She has received more than 30 awards for her achievements in medicine and business and has served on the Board of Directors of the American Medical Women’s Association, the Society for Women’s Health Research and the Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research. Dr. Donnica is also a founding member and was the first co-chair of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists Corporate Advisory Board; a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Council on Women’s Health; and is currently an emeritus member of the Board of Directors of Research!America.
Dr. Donnica is a cum laude graduate of Princeton University. She earned her medical degree from the State University of New York School of Medicine at Buffalo and undertook residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Temple University followed by an additional year of training in family medicine at Memorial Hospital of Burlington County, NJ.
