Women’s Cardiovascular Services

Women with heart disease have unique needs. We offer specialized heart care in multiple locations.
Female friends in exercise class

Why choose UCLA Health for women’s cardiovascular services?

The UCLA Health Women’s Cardiovascular Center offers specialized care for women with heart disease. Women often present with different heart disease symptoms than men, so it’s important to provide targeted, personalized care.

Patients who come to the UCLA Health Women’s Cardiovascular Center benefit from:

Coordinated, convenient care: We offer comprehensive cardiovascular care to women in one convenient location. Our specialists may work with women on lifestyle changes and heart disease prevention or coordinate a heart disease treatment plan.

Multispecialty approach: Multiple experts work together to help women manage all aspects of cardiovascular health. We even have specialists who are experts in health factors that are not easily measured, such as stress, mood, sleep and relationships.

World-class expertise: Our care team includes experts in specific areas of cardiovascular health. For example, we have physicians who specialize in heart failure, disorders of the heart’s blood vessels and heart disease during pregnancy.

Our areas of care

We serve patients through multiple programs and services within the Women’s Cardiovascular Center. All of our services build upon our four CORE components:

  • Clinical care
  • Outreach
  • Research
  • Education

We care for women through an array of programs and services, including:  

Clinical services

Women may come directly to the center for a cardiovascular health assessment. Our specialists create heart disease prevention plans, including nutrition and exercise improvements, smoking cessation, stress reduction and more. We also offer a range of imaging services and minimally invasive treatments, as well as a support group for women who have heart disease .

Cardiopulmonary rehabilitation

Our cardiopulmonary rehabilitation team uses a comprehensive approach to care and personalizes treatment to each patient. The team includes:

  • A Cardiac Psychologist
  • A Registered Dietician
  • Certified exercise specialists
  • Exercise physiologists
  • Registered nurses
  • Respiratory therapists

Community programs

Our community programs fulfill our CORE components of outreach, research and education. Some of these programs include:

A Taste of Health: In an effort to provide an education on heart healthy dietary habits, we offer personalized, in home group cooking classes preparing a delicious meal and discuss the science behind how food choices affect heart health.

ECHO Heart Health SMS: This program began as a research project to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected stress and heart health. We aim to educate people to understand whole body health and wellness, and how that effects cardiovascular risks.

Let’s Talk; Women’s Heart Health: Our annual event launched in 2017, and offers expert-led presentations focused on heart health, preventive measures, stress reduction, mindful living and more.

Teen Heart Health: Teen Heart Health is led by teens, inspired by teens and aims to educate teens about cardiovascular health and healthy eating habits.

UCLA Health Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Health Program

This comprehensive cardiovascular program provides education for women who have or are at risk for heart disease. Through this program, we also conduct research and offer community education through a series of public forums.

Conditions we treat

We specialize in caring for women with any type of heart disease, including:

Arrhythmias: A condition in which the electrical impulses that control the heartbeat don’t work properly, leading to a fast, slow or irregular heart rhythm  

Cardiomyopathy: Thickening of the heart muscle that makes it hard for the heart to pump blood efficiently  

Congenital heart disease: Any problem with the heart’s structure that exists at birth  

Coronary artery disease (CAD): Plaque buildup in the arteries that send oxygen-rich blood to the heart  

Heart disorders during pregnancy: Any heart problems that exist before or develop during pregnancy  

Heart failure: A progressive condition in which the heart muscle doesn’t pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs

Peripheral artery disease: A disorder in which arteries anywhere outside the brain and heart narrow or spasm, blocking adequate blood flow

Meet our team

Our specialists are experts in both cardiovascular and women’s health. We understand the unique needs of women and aim to help women improve their heart health and overall wellness.

Our Leadership Team

Women's Cardiovascular Disease, Cardiology
Women's Cardiovascular Disease, Cardiology
Women's Cardiovascular Disease, Interventional Cardiology
Anne Saltzman
Anne Saltzman, PsyD
Cardiac Psychologist
Women's Cardiovascular Disease, Cardiology

Our Cardiology Team

Westwood

Santa Monica

Los Angeles

Encino

Thousand Oaks

Contact us

Call 310-825-9011 to request an appointment with a women’s cardiovascular specialist at UCLA Health.

Find your care

Our women’s cardiovascular specialists provide comprehensive, targeted care. To learn more about our services, call 310-825-9011.

News & Events

On Saturday March 16, 2024, the UCLA Women's Cardiovascular Center presented another successful Let's Talk; Women's Heart Health program.
Watch a replay of the doctors presentation and find more information and resources here

Are first responders fully prepared to diagnose a heart attack in a woman? 
Read more about the program we're developing - a new UCLA-led course for first responders

According to Anne Saltzman, PsyD, a cardiac psychologist at the UCLA Women’s Cardiovascular Health Center, stress is one of the top risk factors for heart disease.
Read more about how our emotional symphony is key to our heart health