Pharmacists Play Crucial Role in Managing Women’s Heart Health
Katherine Tromp, PharmD, interim dean at Northeast Ohio Medical University College of Pharmacy, discusses how pharmacists can help prevent heart disease in women.
Heart disease remains the leading cause of death among women, yet many of its risk factors often go unnoticed or unmanaged.1 While conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes are common contributors, other critical factors such as depression, stress, and loneliness are frequently overlooked. Pharmacists can play a vital role in identifying these hidden risks by engaging in meaningful conversations and building trusting relationships with their patients.
Because early symptoms of heart-related issues like high cholesterol or hypertension often present silently, pharmacists are in a unique position to emphasize the importance of regular health checkups and screenings, said Katherine Tromp, PharmD, interim dean at Northeast Ohio Medical University College of Pharmacy. Encouraging women to prioritize their own health, especially amid busy lives filled with caregiving responsibilities, is essential.
Pharmacists are also key players in counseling on lifestyle interventions such as smoking cessation, dietary changes, and exercise recommendations. Tromp said pharmacists’ skill in motivational interviewing makes them effective coaches for behavior change.
Drug Topics® recently sat down with Tromp to discuss the most common cardiovascular risk factors in women that pharmacists should be aware of, the role pharmacists play in identifying early signs of cardiovascular disease in women, how pharmacists can help in the prevention of heart disease through lifestyle modification counseling, challenges women face in managing their heart health, and resources pharmacists can use to stay informed about cardiovascular health in women.
“Making sure that pharmacists have that awareness of looking for some of those less well known symptoms, like that loneliness and depression, and just having conversations and connecting with patients if they have any concerns about those risk factors [is important],” Tromp said. “Since a lot of the early symptoms of high cholesterol and high blood pressure don’t actually have symptoms, making sure the patients are aware of that and encouraging them to make their annual appointments with their health care provider.”
READ MORE: Women's Health Resource Center
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