Your heart beats for generations

Many elements contribute to heart health, including personal health, family history, and community factors.

Poor heart health disproportionately affects Black, Brown and Indigenous communities more heavily than the rest of Hennepin County. Systemic racism is a primary driver of health differences between African American/Black, Indigenous and other communities.

Signs and symptoms of heart health issue

If you are experiencing a health emergency, call 911.

Women experience higher missed or delayed diagnoses of poor heart health. Women tend to be less aware that they're at risk for potentially life-threatening heart problems. They also may be less aware of the signs and symptoms of heart attacks than men because of differences in those symptoms, which include:

• Squeezing or pressure in the chest
• Neck, jaw, shoulder, upper back or abdominal discomfort (without chest pain)
• Shortness of breath
• Unusual fatigue
• Nausea, vomiting, or sever indigestion
• Sweating

Resources

• Women's Heart Health – Hennepin Healthcare
• Warning signs and symptoms for women – American Heart Association
• Women's Heart Health – Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation

Prevention

Learning more about your risk for heart health related issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and family health history.

There are lifestyle factors that can support your overall health such as: healthful and well-balanced meals, physical activity, avoiding commercial tobacco use and exposure, and limiting alcohol use.

Visit a clinic near you to receive care

• Hennepin Healthcare - Brooklyn Park Clinic
• Indian Health Board of Minneapolis
• Native American Community Clinic
• Neighborhood HealthSource
• North Memorial Health - Brooklyn Center
• NorthPoint Health & Wellness
• Southside Community Health Services
• University of Minnesota Physicians Broadway Family Medicine Clinic

Experienced a cardiac event? Join our monthly support group for African American/Black women.

Join the Women’s Heart Health support group online at noon the third Tuesday each month to learn from University of Minnesota M Health Fairview providers and to build community. Register online to join the support group.

Get support for your heart health (PDF, 1MB)

What Hennepin County is doing

In 2024, the Board of Commissioners dedicated $1 million for Hennepin County Public Health to address heart health disparities. The Women’s Heart Health Initiative will support African American/Black and Indigenous women in Hennepin County by:

• Developing culturally appropriate community programs to improve heart health.
• Expanding prevention efforts and strengthening care coordination before, during, and after serious heart problems, such as a heart attack.
• Building awareness through a media campaign centering the experience of Black and Indigenous women who have navigated serious heart health issues.
• Recognizing and addressing the relationship between heart health and mental health.

Hennepin County's Black and Indigenous Women's Heart Health Initiative (PDF, 1MB)