Coronary Artery Disease is the number one health threat among both American men and women. However, today’s research focuses almost entirely on men. When it comes to women, heart disease is under-researched, under-treated, and under-diagnosed. With fundamental biological differences between the sexes, why do we allow our doctors to treat us like we have the same type of heart? Aside from reproductive concerns, medical research has historically neglected the health needs of women. This is what we like to call the “Bikini Approach” or the “Gender Gap.”

Just a couple of decades ago, heart disease was considered strictly a man’s disease and even though we have come a long way, many doctors are still practicing medicine based on studies performed on a population of predominantly white middle-aged men. Dr. Nitza Alvarez, an accomplished cardiologist who has a particular passion for her female patients, has written this comprehensive guide, specifically for women, to help them in understanding and living with their “#1 threat,” heart disease. This audiobook promotes awareness of the increased risk that we as women have of dying from a medical condition that is very often preventable.

Dr. Alvarez named the book Heels vs. Ties because heels have an unquestionably feminine association, while ties were a must-have clothing accessory for men. Contrasting these two symbolic objects is done intentionally to emphasize that there are clear differences in risks, symptoms, presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of heart disease in women.