Heart disease can be difficult to spot. That's why AHN offers preventive heart checks — so you can catch heart problems before they become emergencies.
AHN Women's Heart Center
Knowing the symptoms and risks of cardiovascular disease can make all the difference in living a long and healthy life. That's why our cardiologists work closely with each patient to support healthy heart goals.
We’re experts in heart disease in women and recognized as a national leader in cardiac care. The AHN Women’s Heart Center provides a variety of gender-specific treatments and individualized care plans tailored to each woman’s unique situation. From prevention and diagnosing to treatment and long-term care, we know what it takes to help keep hearts healthy.
Our goals
The AHN Cardiovascular Institute is your partner in women's heart care and heart disease in women. Cardiovascular disease, which includes heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, and arrhythmias, is the most common cause of death in women. Our goal is to help you understand your risk factors for heart disease while working with your unique needs.
At the AHN Women's Heart Center, we work to identify and treat heart disease risk factors right away instead of waiting for problems or symptoms to start. Using the latest technology and evidence-based treatments, we manage heart disease in women at every stage of life. And through close follow-up and long-term management, our specialists help keep your heart as healthy as possible.
Heart checks at AHN
Our specialties
The AHN Women’s Heart Center specializes in several areas related to heart disease in women, including:
Cardiac care during pregnancy and menopause
Pregnancy-related heart conditions
We team up with high-risk pregnancy physicians and your OB-GYN through our Cardio Obstetrics Clinic to help protect your heart throughout and following pregnancy for heart conditions including:
- Preeclampsia (high blood pressure caused by pregnancy).
- Arrhythmias (heart rhythm disorders).
- Peripartum cardiomyopathy (heart failure that occurs toward the end of pregnancy or after childbirth).
- Congenital heart disease.
- Prior heart attack.
Learn more about our pregnancy and newborn services and the locations where we offer this type of care.
Menopause-related heart conditions
Our expert cardiologists help manage menopause symptoms by carefully monitoring the use of hormone replacement therapy, if recommended by your gynecologist.
We collaborate with your OB-GYN to help minimize chances of hormone-induced heart issues in women and make you as comfortable as possible during this transition. Learn more about gynecologic care at AHN.
Cardio-oncology care
Some cancer treatments, such as radiation and chemotherapy focused on the chest for breast cancer, can increase a woman’s risk of arrhythmia and heart failure. We work with your oncologist to help decrease your risk of side effects from cancer treatments that may contribute to cardiotoxicity and heart damage.
For more information on how we treat heart problems relating to cancer treatments, visit the AHN Cardio-Oncology Clinic.
Coronary artery disease in women
Coronary artery disease (CAD) can present differently in women than men. Certain risk factors for CAD are also unique to women. Moreover, the testing required for diagnosis of this condition can also be different. AHN was one of the first hospital systems in the country to prove that cardiac magnetic resonance imaging is an effective technique at detecting heart disease in women. More recently, stress testing with Cardiac PET imaging, as well as specialized catheterization techniques, can identify arterial disease all the way into the smallest arteries in the heart — which can be more common in women. We also offer expertise in the diagnosis and long-term management of gender-specific conditions, such as spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD), and are part of an international registry for this condition.
Women’s heart disease support services
We make appropriate referrals to other cardiovascular services such as advanced heart failure, electrophysiology, cardiothoracic, or vascular surgery as needed. We also offer additional support services, dietitians, integrative medicine programs, and cardiac rehabilitation to lower overall cardiovascular risk and for those recovering from cardiac procedures.
Should you make an appointment at the AHN Women's Heart Center?
Schedule an appointment if you've experienced any of the following:
- Chest pain
- Pregnancy-related cardiovascular conditions
- Postpartum high blood pressure after giving birth
- Family history of heart disease at a young age
Services we offer
The most common services offered at the AHN Women’s Heart Center include the following:
- Diagnosing and managing persistent chest pain/angina symptoms in women, with additional focus on angina with normal-appearing arteries
- Managing cardiovascular risk factors, including high cholesterol and hypertension, with attention to gender-specific needs such as contraception, pregnancy, and postmenopausal hormone therapy
- Evaluating and monitoring women with spontaneous coronary artery dissection
- Diagnosis and management of pregnant women, those considering pregnancy, or postpartum women with the following conditions:
- Risk assessment for women contemplating pregnancy who have a history of cardiac disease
- Pregnant women with previous cholesterol abnormalities
- Women with symptoms of chest pain or heart palpitations during pregnancy
- Pregnant women with a prior history of hypertension
- Pregnant women with known congenital heart disease
- Postpartum women with pregnancy-induced high blood pressure
What sets us apart
The AHN Women’s Heart Center offers elevated services that set it apart from other treatment centers:
- We work closely with your OB-GYN for gender-specific conditions through our Cardio Obstetrics Clinic.
- We have experts who understand how cardiovascular disease presents differently in men and women and the related risk factors with certain conditions and family planning.
- Allegheny General Hospital (AGH) was one of the first cardiac positron emission tomography (PET) centers in southwestern Pennsylvania and also has the most significant experience with microvascular disease using cardiac PET.
- AGH has a dedicated cardiac MRI program, with cardiologists who participated in the Women’s Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation trial. This National Institute of Health-funded clinical trial highlighted the distinctive features of chest pain assessment in women.
- AHN is one of the few facilities nationwide to perform coronary vasoreactivity testing in the cardiac catheterization lab to diagnose coronary endothelial dysfunction, which can contribute to chest pain in women.
- Our program uses evidence-based protocols for testing and management of women with chest pain with normal coronary arteries, also known as ischemia with normal coronary arteries (INOCA).
- These protocols include the use of exercise stress testing, infarction assessment by cardiac MRI, coronary flow reserve assessment by cardiac PET, coronary vasoreactivity testing in the catheterization lab, and CT coronary angiography for the identification of myocardial bridge and coronary calcium score assessment for appropriate management.
Meet our women's heart disease experts
When you visit the AHN Women’s Heart Center, our experts are ready to help you achieve your health goals. Our specialists are dedicated to treating many women’s heart disease symptoms and conditions, often collaborating to develop an individualized care plan tailored to a patient’s specific needs.
Our team includes:
- Cardiologists
- Pharmacists
- Dietitians
- Cardiothoracic surgeons
- Sleep medicine experts
- Maternal fetal medicine specialists
AHN Women's Heart Center physicians
Our expert-trained team of physicians is dedicated to providing the best care using the latest innovations to help manage and treat heart disease in women.
How to get care
Whether you’re looking to prevent women’s heart disease, have been diagnosed with a heart condition, or are currently experiencing related symptoms, we’re here to help get you the individualized care you need.
Appointments and information for the Women's Heart Center
Not yet diagnosed
If you don't have a diagnosis, call (412) DOCTORS (412) 362-8677 to make an appointment with your primary care provider (PCP). They will explore all possible causes of your symptoms.
Second opinions
If you're looking for a second opinion, call (412) DOCTORS (412) 362-8677 to contact the Women's Heart Center directly.
Physician referral
Talk with your PCP if you're experiencing any of the conditions we treat at the Women's Heart Center. Your doctor may refer you to our clinic for treatment and additional resources for women's heart health.
Self-referral
If you've been diagnosed with any of the conditions we treat and want to visit the Women's Heart Center, you can refer yourself for treatment by calling (412) 359-4744 to directly reach the AHN Cardiovascular Institute.
Before calling, please have your current insurance information and the contact information of your primary care doctor (if you have one) on hand.
You can also complete a short form to request a call from a Women's Heart Center representative at a more convenient time.
Both new and existing patients may call (412) 359-4744 to schedule an appointment to discuss heart health concerns, schedule an annual cardiac checkup, or refer themselves for treatment at the Women's Heart Center.
AHN Women's Heart Center locations
Our cardiologists recognize that the signs, symptoms, and causes of heart disease in women can present differently than in men. That’s why we offer a wide array of women’s heart health care services at these locations:
Allegheny General Hospital
320 East North Avenue, 1st Floor
Pittsburgh, PA 15212
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Wexford Health + Wellness Pavilion
12311 Perry Highway, 2nd Floor
Wexford, PA 15090
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AHN Cardiology West Penn
Outpatient Services Building
5140 Liberty Ave, 1st Floor
Pittsburgh, PA 15224
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All statistics and figures mentioned in marketing materials are sourced from the American Heart Association, GoRedForWomen.org/Facts.
Heart disease in women research
AHN Cardiovascular Research Institute
AHN's Cardiovascular Research Institute is established on more than 100 years of innovation, with diverse areas of focus, including research for the latest in heart disease treatments. Our qualified team and Women's Heart Center physicians take pride in using state-of-the-art devices, technology, and therapies to help revolutionize care for heart problems in women.
What is a clinical trial?
Clinical trials are special research opportunities that explore medical treatments, strategies, or devices to ensure they're safe and effective for humans.
Active clinical trials
By prioritizing research and innovation, our physicians and patients are engaged in more than 100 national and international clinical trials. Participating in these trials gives AHN patients special access to some of the newest treatment options for heart disease.
To participate in a clinical trial or to learn more about research opportunities, check out our active clinical trials.
Refer your patient to an AHN heart specialist for women
Non-AHN providers
Non-AHN providers can submit an online patient referral or call (844) MD-REFER (844) 637-3337.
Non-AHN providers can use the EpicCare® Link™ platform to view updates on their patients' care within AHN after the initial referral is completed.
Medical records
Whether you're referring from near or far and need access to specific test results or imaging not provided in the EpicCare Link platform, please fill out a medical record request form.
EpicCare® is a registered trademark of Epic Systems Corporation and used with permission.
EpicCare® Link™ is a trademark of Epic Systems Corporation and used with permission.
AHN Cardiovascular Institute appointments and access
Learn more about our appointment options, second opinions, locations, referrals, and resources.