Curated News
By: NewsRamp Editorial Staff
October 30, 2025
NCAA Coaches Unite Against Women's #1 Killer: Heart Disease
TLDR
- The American Heart Association's Hearts on the Court Collective gives women a strategic advantage by providing essential tools to prevent cardiovascular disease through lifestyle changes.
- The Hearts on the Court Collective educates women on tracking blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar while promoting healthy eating, exercise, and sleep habits.
- This initiative empowers women to take control of their heart health, potentially saving thousands of lives and creating healthier futures for families and communities.
- Nineteen NCAA women's basketball coaches are teaming up to raise awareness about heart disease prevention through the American Heart Association's new Hearts on the Court Collective.
Impact - Why it Matters
Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death for women in the United States, yet awareness and prevention efforts have historically lagged behind other health concerns. This initiative matters because it leverages the cultural influence of women's sports to address a health crisis that claims more lives than all forms of cancer combined. The involvement of prominent NCAA coaches provides a powerful platform to reach younger women and athletes during formative years when heart-healthy habits can be established. Given that approximately 80% of heart attacks and strokes are preventable through lifestyle changes, this campaign has the potential to save countless lives by empowering women with knowledge about risk factors, prevention strategies, and the importance of advocating for proper medical care. The timing is particularly crucial as women face unique cardiovascular challenges during pregnancy, menopause, and other life stages that are often overlooked in traditional health education.
Summary
In a groundbreaking initiative to combat the leading killer of women in the United States, the American Heart Association has launched the Hearts on the Court Collective, uniting 19 prominent NCAA women's college basketball coaches in a powerful campaign against cardiovascular disease. Led by Louisiana State University's hall of fame head coach Kim Mulkey, this inaugural coalition represents a significant escalation in the fight against a disease that claims more than 440,000 women's lives annually. The Collective aims to leverage the influence and visibility of these respected coaches to raise awareness about heart health through social media campaigns and public service announcements, targeting the alarming statistic that nearly 45% of women over age 20 live with some form of cardiovascular disease while only half recognize it as their greatest health threat.
The campaign will focus on educating women about prevention strategies through Life's Essential 8™ for Women, emphasizing key health metrics including blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels while promoting healthy eating, physical activity, tobacco abstinence, and quality sleep. According to American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown, this initiative addresses critical gaps in women's cardiovascular care, from underrepresentation in clinical research to lower rates of lifesaving bystander CPR. The Collective will also highlight how unique life stages like pregnancy and menopause affect cardiovascular disease risk, empowering women to become better advocates for their own health care.
Beyond the educational components, the Hearts on the Court Collective represents a cultural shift in how women's heart health is addressed, with influential sports figures using their platforms to champion a cause that disproportionately affects women. The participating coaches represent premier programs across the NCAA landscape, including universities such as Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee, UCLA, Baylor, Alabama, Florida, USC, Oklahoma State, Notre Dame, Iowa, Ohio State, Arizona State, Indiana, and California-Berkeley. This united front demonstrates the growing recognition that cardiovascular disease prevention requires collective action and that sports leadership can play a crucial role in driving health awareness and behavioral change among women of all ages.
Source Statement
This curated news summary relied on content disributed by NewMediaWire. Read the original source here, NCAA Coaches Unite Against Women's #1 Killer: Heart Disease
