PSM Performance teams with Parkview Heart Institute & PPG-Cardiology to develop workouts for Her Heart Challenge participants
Parkview Sports Medicine has teamed with the Parkview Heart Institute and the Parkview Physician’s Group – Cardiology to assist women in the Her Heart Challenge, a unique cardiovascular program designed to reduce heart disease.
“The leading cause of death in women is heart disease,” Jill Zahm, MSN, RN, AHN-BC, program coordinator for the Parkview Heart Institute, says. “We want to find women who are really ready to make change.
The Her Heart Challenge program meets weekly for four months, and provides participants with resources for lifestyle changes aimed at reducing their own risk for heart disease and achieving well-being goals.
“This is a way for me to get involved and learn more about what I should be doing,” Jane Davidson, a Her Heart Challenge participant, says. “I’m one of those people who really thinks knowledge is power. That knowledge does not actually become powerful until you put it to use.”
Twenty-five women were accepted for the program in 2022 through an application process that included interviews, an overnight retreat, a pre-challenge health assessment, free lab work, and support from an array of health experts from Parkview Health.
This past year, the Heart Institute connected with Parkview Sports Medicine’s human performance team to devise an exercise program tailored to the physical abilities of each woman. The women train with PSM Performance Specialist Tiffany Patterson, BSK, CSCS, during Wednesday morning sessions at Empowered Sports Club in Fort Wayne.
Participants in the 2022 Her Heart Challenge with PSM Performance Specialist Tiffany Patterson (kneeling)
“It’s been a great experience,” Tiffany beams. “To see them grow, to see them excel, to see them determined to be here, and to see them be excited to be here.”
“It isn’t just about losing weight,” Her Heart Challenge participant Linda Wright-Bower says. “It’s about building strength, improving your endurance, learning about healthy foods, learning new habits and trying new things.”
The 2023 Her Heart Challenge starts in July. Applications are available here, and will be accepted through May 31. Representatives from the Parkview Heart Institute and Parkview Physicians Group-Cardiology will have more information at the Love Your Heart Expo, scheduled for Thursday, May 4 at Parkview Mirro Center.