Gabe Stark
The Trenton Telegraph

For Dr. Tracy Stevens, heart disease isn’t just a diagnosis — it’s a mission.

After nearly 30 years as a cardiologist with St. Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute, Stevens has spent her career challenging a long-standing misconception: that heart disease is primarily a man’s problem. It isn’t.

In fact, heart disease and stroke remain the No. 1 cause of death for women in the United States, claiming more lives each year than all forms of cancer combined. Yet fewer than half of women recognize it as their greatest health threat.

“That gap in awareness is one of our biggest challenges,” Stevens said. “Women are busy taking care of everyone else — their families, their jobs, their communities — and they often put their own health last.”

Stevens, a Kansas City Northland native, regularly sees patients from north-central Missouri through St. Luke’s outreach clinics, including visits connected to Wright Memorial Hospital. Her work, however, extends far beyond exam rooms.

She serves as medical director of the Muriel I. Kaufman Women’s Heart Center, one of the first centers in the nation devoted entirely to women’s cardiovascular health. Founded in 1994, the program began educating women years before heart disease was formally recognized as their leading cause of death.

“We were talking about this when most people still believed heart disease was a man’s disease,” Stevens said. “Back then, even medical research focused almost entirely on men.

A path shaped by patients

Stevens’ journey into cardiology didn’t begin in medical school. She first worked as a physical therapist, helping cardiac rehabilitation patients recover after heart attacks.

“At that time, if you had a heart attack, you stayed in the hospital for a week,” she said. “We started rehab right away. I saw firsthand how life-changing heart disease could be — and how much difference education and support made.”

Encouraged by family and mentors, Stevens returned to school, eventually becoming a cardiologist and later directing a cardiac transplant program. Over time, her focus sharpened on women — a group she said was often misunderstood, under-researched and under-diagnosed.

Heart disease doesn’t look the same in women

One of the biggest dangers for women, Stevens said, is that heart disease often presents differently than expected.

“The classic crushing chest pain does happen, but it’s not the whole story,” she said. “Women may have jaw pain, a toothache, pain between the shoulder blades, shortness of breath, palpitations or overwhelming fatigue.”

Those subtle symptoms can cause women to delay seeking care. Studies show women wait hours longer than men before going to the emergency room during a heart attack — time that can mean the difference between life and death.

“Any symptom from the waist up should put heart disease on your radar,” Stevens said. “Especially if it comes on with exertion or feels different than anything you’ve had before.”

Risk changes across a woman’s lifetime

Unlike many health conditions, heart disease risk isn’t static for women. It evolves across their lives.

Pregnancy, Stevens said, acts as a natural stress test on the heart. Certain pregnancy-related conditions — including high blood pressure disorders such as preeclampsia — significantly raise the risk of heart attack and stroke later in life.

There are also conditions unique to women, such as spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD), a cause of heart attack most often seen in otherwise healthy women under 50, including during or after pregnancy.

“These women may have no traditional risk factors,” Stevens said. “That’s why awareness is so important — both for patients and providers.”

Cancer treatments can also have long-term cardiovascular effects, particularly therapies involving radiation or chemotherapy to the chest. Menopause itself is another major turning point, as hormonal changes increase cardiovascular risk.

Later in life, women are more likely to develop heart failure with stiff hearts rather than weak ones — a condition that has received far less research attention.

“We have more questions than answers in many areas of women’s heart health,” Stevens said. “That’s why research and education are so critical.”

The silent killer: high blood pressure

If Stevens could sound one alarm louder than any other, it would be for high blood pressure.

“High blood pressure is the most neglected condition in our country,” she said. “You can feel perfectly fine and still be damaging every major organ in your body.”

Uncontrolled blood pressure increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, heart failure, kidney disease, vision loss, dementia and more. Stevens recommends most adults aim for readings below 130/80 and stresses the importance of home monitoring.

“We want a blood pressure cuff in every home,” she said. “Not just a reading at the doctor’s office, but knowing what your blood pressure is where you live and work.”

Stevens recommends automatic upper-arm cuffs, noting that affordable, reliable models are widely available. She encourages patients to bring their devices to appointments to verify accuracy.

Prevention starts at home

The encouraging news, Stevens said, is that most heart attacks and strokes are preventable.

She points to six lifestyle factors that dramatically reduce risk: healthy eating, regular physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight, avoiding tobacco, limiting alcohol and reducing prolonged sitting.

Exercise alone can have immediate benefits.

“Check your blood pressure before and after exercise,” she said. “You’ll often see it drop. That’s your body telling you this is good for you.”

Stevens also warned that nicotine — whether smoked, vaped or consumed in other forms — inflames blood vessels and increases the risk of plaque rupture, a common trigger for heart attacks.

“Anything that causes inflammation in the arteries raises risk,” she said.

Knowledge saves lives

Stevens believes education remains the most powerful tool in fighting heart disease.

“Be your own advocate,” she said. “Know your numbers. Pay attention to your symptoms. And don’t be afraid to speak up if something doesn’t feel right.”

She encourages women to use reputable resources such as the American Heart Association and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, to learn more about women’s heart health.

If readers remember just one thing, Stevens said, it should be this:

“Control your blood pressure,” she said. “It’s simple, it’s powerful, and it saves lives.”