Image
Dr. Retu Saxena, a researcher at Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation (MHIF) and a cardiologist at the Minneapolis Heart Institute®, has been elected to serve as the next President of the Minnesota Chapter of the American College of Cardiology. Her term will begin in March 2022 and she will serve a concomitant role as Minnesota representative on the American College of Cardiology Board of Governors.
Dr. Saxena, who was recognized as a 2021 Top Doctor for Women in Minnesota Monthly and 2020 Top Doctor in Mpls St. Paul Magazine, has expertise in women’s heart disease, noninvasive imaging and critical care, as well as specific research interests related to cardiovascular risk factors that emerge during pregnancy.
For more than 38 years, the MHIF has been working to help create a world without heart and vascular disease. From research and education on how to best prevent heart disease to research on the latest drugs, devices and medical treatments, we’re helping to spread awareness and improve and save lives locally, nationally and globally.
“When it comes to women’s heart health research, we are about 35 years behind where we should be,” said Dr. Saxena. “So we’ve gone through the last 30 years thinking women are small men, which is not true. We have different cardiovascular conditions — and we have pregnancy. What happens to us during pregnancy impacts us later in life and impacts our hearts during pregnancy.”
As part of her work with MHIF’s Penny Anderson Women’s Cardiovascular Center, she has provided training to more than 150 ob-gyn and women’s care practitioners to help them better manage risk among their patients as part of MHIF’s BROACH initiative (Broadening the Role of Ob-Gyns in Assessing Cardiovascular Health).
Dr. Saxena previously served from 2016-2019 as a member of the ACC-MN Board of Councilors and was active in committee work and as a participant of the annual Midwest Cardiovascular Forum. She graduated from the University of Minnesota Medical School and trained at Oregon Health and Sciences University and the University of New Mexico.
Read her August 2020 profile in Minnesota Monthly: Dr. Retu Saxena Works to Advance Women’s Heart Health.
Watch below as Dr. Saxena explains why there is such a critical need for more women’s heart health research.
