Women’s cardiology

Ascension Texas Cardiovascular in Austin, Texas, specializes in heart care for women at risk or with cardiovascular disease.

Women's heart health in Austin

Ascension Texas Cardiovascular in Austin, Texas, specializes in heart care for women at risk or with cardiovascular disease.

Why choose us

Cardiologists at Ascension Texas Cardiovascular specialize in providing heart care for women. We diagnose, treat and monitor heart conditions that commonly affect women, such as heart disease, heart attack and chronic chest pain. Our team has additional cardiology training in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of women at risk for heart disease.

Symptoms of heart disease in women

Some women may not have any symptoms, while others may experience:

Chest pain
Nausea
Vomiting
Fatigue

Heart disease risk factors for women

Common risk factors for heart disease in women include:

Diabetes
Family history of heart attack and stroke
Inactivity
Menopause
Mental stress and depression
Pregnancy complications, such as preeclampsia
Smoking

How we manage heart risk factors for women

Since heart disease is the leading cause of death for women, we focus on heart care prevention. Your doctor will create a care plan that helps manage your risk factors. This may include lifestyle changes, medications, and lowering high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Your care team provides blood pressure monitoring to help you better understand your heart health and reduce the risk of severe conditions like heart attack, stroke and kidney disease. Whether you're being screened for high blood pressure (hypertension) or managing an existing condition, regular monitoring can keep you healthy. Your heart specialist may recommend doctor visit checks, home blood pressure monitoring or 24-hour blood pressure monitoring.

This blood test helps you and your doctor better understand your cholesterol, blood sugar, protein levels and more. Your blood tests will help give your care team insights into your heart health.

A simple lipid blood test can give your cardiologist important information about your cholesterol levels to personalize your care plan to prevent heart attack, stroke and other heart conditions. A cholesterol test, also called a lipid panel, measures the levels of different types of fats in your blood, including total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides.

This minimally invasive procedure helps our cardiologists accurately diagnose heart conditions by evaluating how well your heart and blood vessels are working. A catheter is gently inserted into a blood vessel through the wrist or groin and guided to your heart’s chambers. A contrast dye is injected through the catheter to help capture images of your heart. This procedure helps your care team measure blood flow, check for blockages in the coronary arteries, evaluate heart valve function and determine how well your heart is pumping.

We offer electrocardiograms (EKGs or ECGs) to help quickly evaluate how your heart is working. This simple test records the electrical activity of your heart. It can help detect a variety of heart conditions, such as arrhythmias, signs of a heart attack, an enlarged heart or structural heart issues.

After your EKG, your doctor will review your results with you and create a care plan that includes follow-up care. Your doctor can also share your results with your primary care doctor.

Our electrophysiology (EP) team performs advanced EP studies to diagnose the source and type of arrhythmias. Using specialized catheters and real-time mapping, we evaluate your heart's electrical activity to guide the most effective treatment plan.

A cardiac stress test measures how your heart responds to exercise or medication that mimics exercise. As your heart works harder, we monitor your heart rate, blood pressure and electrical activity to look for signs of reduced blood flow or other abnormalities. This test helps detect signs of heart disease and determine the cause of symptoms like chest pain, shortness of breath or arrhythmia to help your heart team create a personalized treatment plan.

How we prevent and treat heart disease in women

Our preventive cardiology programs focus on identifying and managing risk factors before heart problems develop. We deliver personalized care plans that include heart-healthy lifestyle guidance, advanced screenings and support. Our goal is to help you stay ahead of heart disease.

If you have been diagnosed with heart disease, we are here to support you. Your doctor works with you to create a personalized care plan. Heart disease may be managed with lifestyle changes, medication or a heart procedure.

How to get care

stethoscope

The women’s heart program at the Ascension Texas Cardiovascular provides you with two consultation options: new patient appointments and women's heart health assessments.

New patient appointments: For women with symptoms of heart disease or women at risk for heart disease. During your appointment, your doctor may provide a formal risk assessment, diagnosis and care plan.

If you are experiencing a life-threatening emergency, go directly to the ER or call 911.