MEDICAL SCHOOL

Women's health subject of far-reaching initiative

Although women comprise more than half the population, their health needs have never been adequately studied and addressed. So many are surprised to learn that one in seven women in the U.S. ages 45-65 and one in three over age 65 has heart disease.

Heart disease overall is the major killer of women in the U.S.

"But most women will tell you they think it's cancer....We think of heart disease as a man's disease, but that's not really the case at all," said Jean Wactawski-Wende, clinical assistant professor of gynecology and obstetrics in the UB medical school. She spoke at a recent UB at Sunrise breakfast and aired similar views on "UB Today," the 30-minute, monthly alumni magazine on Adelphia Cable.

Wactawski-Wende is coprincipal investigator for the Buffalo portion of the Women's Health Initiative, an effort funded by the National Institutes of Health to investigate the causes of, as well as the effectiveness of various treatments for, coronary heart disease, breast and colorectal cancers, and osteoporosis in older women.