Community Programs

Sister to Sister was created by women, for women, because too many of us fall victim to a disease that’s easily preventable. Our programs are designed to mobilize women one by one, and also in groups large and small.

Since 2000, Sister to Sister has been in communities across the United States hosting heart health programs for women. 

You can find Sister to Sister in the following communities:

Nothing nearby?  Contact us and Sister to Sister will be happy to help you locate screening and education resources in your area.

Sister to Sister in Boston

Sister to Sister has been part of the Boston community since 2004.

Sister to Sister is proud to partner with Brigham and Women's Hospital to provide heart-health screenings, events, classes, and more to the Boston area on a year-round basis. 

Brigham and Women's Cardiovascular Wellness Service is a multidisciplinary effort of Brigham and Women's Hospital, dedicated to preventing heart disease and promoting heart health in women. 

"Smart for the Heart" Online Program

Sister to Sister, in partnership with Brigham and Women's Hospital, is proud to announce Smart for the Heart, a comprehensive wellness program to empower women to improve their heart health. 

The program is based on its Health Risk Assessment (HRA), the premier questionnaire for calculating your personal risk for heart disease, with immediate results and comprehensive recommendations to improve heart disease  risk factors.

There is an extensive variety of tools to help achieve your health and wellness goals, including weight loss, healthy eating, stress reduction, and smoking cessation.   

  • Meal Planner
  • Food Log
  • Nutrition Tracker
  • Recipe Analysis
  • Exercise Logs
  • Pedometer Tracker
  • Exercise Plans & Demonstrations
  • Wellness Articles

We hope you will join us in Smart for the Heart, and to share this new resource with your friends, family and co-workers.  Please visit Smart for the Heart to sign-up.  It’s quick and easy, and all of your personal information will be kept strictly confidential.

Heart Happenings

 Heart Happenings presentations were held monthly in 2011 in the Shapiro 3rd Floor Porch from 5:30-7:00pm. Each event included free food and refreshments, a short presentation by one of the Brigham's very own cardiologists on cutting-edge cardiovascular topics, and an open Q&A session. To view the taped presentations and Q&A sessions, please visit Brigham and Women's archives page. 


Upcoming Screening Events for 2012

The Cardiovascular Wellness Service is pleased to offer free monthly cardiovascular disease screenings as part of Heart Happenings, an initiative to prevent heart disease in our community. Screenings provide simple tests to measure risk factors for heart disease and one-on-one counseling sessions – a great step toward taking control of your own heart health. The Cardiovascular Wellness Service is currently compiling a list of 2012 screenings, so check back soon for our updated calendar of events. 

Past Screening Events

Sister to Sister and Brigham and Women's Hospital participated in the 7News and Partners Health and Fitness Expo at the Hynes Convention Center on June 25th and 26th, 2011.  Over 700 women and men turned out to get heart smart by receiving complimentary heart-health screenings with immediate results and personalized counseling sessions with a medical professional.  Counseling sessions were offered in English and Spanish.  The event included celebrities, area doctors with cutting-edge medical information, fun activities for kids, free health screening for adults, lifestyle presentations and healthy cooking tips.

The BWH Cardiovascular Wellness Service screening area at the Hynes Convention Center. A participant getting blood taken for cholesterol and glucose analysis.

The Love Your Heart program was a 13-week initiative for 35 women (mean age 48.2) in the Boston area who were at risk of heart disease.  The program provided education and information about nutrition, stress reduction and overall heart health and support for healthy living and a free 3-month gym pass.

In partnership with Body by Brandy Gym and the Boston Black Women’s Health Institute, the program offered baseline and follow-up screenings at the end of the 13 weeks. 
 
A significant heart disease risk reduction was calculated:
– Obesity rates went from 80% to 71%
– The percentage of participants identified with hypertension dropped from 41% to 29%
– Those with an elevated waist circumference went from 94% to 76%

If you are interested in learning more about Love Your Heart, please contact us via email or call 617-442-2187 for more information.

Free cardiovacular disease screenings in the fitness center. The popular yoga sessions at the Body by Brandy Wellness Center.

 

         
         
         

 

 

 

Executive Women's Event

Let’s face it: We women are our own best advocates. We’re natural-born problem-solvers who feel a duty to share the wisdom of our life experiences with others. Women can move mountains…if we know which mountains to move.

At our Executive Women’s Events, held in cities nationwide, Sister to Sister helped women in leadership roles recognize that heart disease is a life-or-death issue for women that they can help resolve.

These events served as the kick-off to our National Women’s Healthy Heart Campaign.  Its goal was to reach women who are senior level executives, elected officials, and leaders in the community in order to encourage the women to promote the Health Fair to their employees, colleagues, family, and friends.

The attendees participated in free cardiovascular screenings with immediate results and personalized counseling sessions to demonstrate how and why screening interventions work to save lives.  The screenings were generously donated by Brigham and Women's Hospital, our partner in Boston.

Guests were treated to heart-healthy meals from local restaurants, a program of speakers from leading cardiologists and specialists in the field of heart health, information about heart disease awareness and prevention and exciting raffles and fun take home keepsakes.

Outreach for the Boston Executive Women’s Breakfast led to a wonderful combination of key influencers in the financial, medical, government and social service arenas of Boston.  

Sister to Sister in Washington, D.C.


Sister to Sister has been part of your community since 2001. We work year-round to bring heart health resources to the women of Washington, D.C.

Yoga for the Heart Workshop

In honor of Heart Awareness Month, Sister to Sister will be featured in a very special Yoga for the Heart Workshop at Dahn Yoga Center.  Please join us on Sunday, February 19th in downtown Washington DC and celebrate the heart, while relaxing your mind and de-stressing the physical body.

During this all-levels workshop, you will have the chance to practice heart-opening poses, restorative yoga, and guided meditations.  The event will conclude with an informal talk about heart health and how lifestyle changes can have a positive impact in lowering one's risk for heart disease.

Sunday, February 19th 2012
2:00—3:30 pm

Dahn Yoga Center - Map & Directions
700 14th Street NW
Washington, DC

Please 202-393-2440  call to reserve your mat. 

"Smart for the Heart" Online Program

Sister to Sister, in partnership with Brigham and Women's Hospital, is proud to announce Smart for the Heart, a comprehensive wellness program to empower women to improve their heart health. 

The program is centered around a Health Risk Assessment (HRA), the premier questionnaire for calculating your personal risk for heart disease, with immediate results and comprehensive recommendations to improve heart disease  risk factors.

There is an extensive variety of tools to help achieve your health and wellness goals, including weight loss, healthy eating, stress reduction, and smoking cessation.   

  • Meal Planner
  • Food Log
  • Nutrition Tracker
  • Recipe Analysis
  • Exercise Logs
  • Pedometer Tracker
  • Exercise Plans & Demonstrations
  • Wellness Articles

We hope you will join us in Smart for the Heart, and to share this new resource with your friends, family and co-workers.  Please visit Smart for the Heart to sign-up.  It’s quick and easy, and all of your personal information will be kept strictly confidential.

Bike for the Heart 2011

Sister to Sister     and VIDA Fitness teamed up to host Bike For The Heart 2011, a fun indoor cycling event to raise awareness that heart disease is the #1 cause of death for women. An individual's risk for heart disease can be lowered by over 80% by leading a healthy lifestyle, and exercise is one of the keys to lowering that risk.

 

 

Indoor cycling is an energizing aerobic workout that makes your heart pump fast, and burns about 600 calories per hour.    

Bike for the Heart was a wonderful, four-hour community event held on Saturday, October 15th at VIDA Fitness (F Street location). Men and women gathered together to do something healthy for their own hearts, while raising awareness to prevent heart disease.  

The monies raised through the rental of bikes and donations will directly fund Sister to Sister’s cardiovascular screening and educational programs. 

We are excited to partner with VIDA Fitness, one of the top fitness clubs in DC.  The event included studio cycling on Real Ryder bikes, goody bags for all participants, health and wellness materials for all gym members, and lots of incredible giveaways.

Sister to Sister's most dedicated rider, Beverly Maynard Simms was awarded with two round-trip airline tickets.

Our generous sponsor of the event, the farm family owners of Cabot Creamery, makers of the “World’s Best Cheddar” are proud to provide a Vermont Spa Getaway for two including three nights Luxury Stay at the Stoweflake Resort and Spa in Stowe, VT -includes round trip airfare from the closest major airport, breakfast daily and a 50-minute spa treatment each.  Ms. Frances Hawkins was the lucky winner of the sweepstakes.    \ The

Sister to Sister is grateful to the generous support of our sponsors for making Bike for the Heart possible!

Details for the event for Bike for the Heart 2012 will be coming soon. .

         
           

 

"Heart Smarts" Event

Sister to Sister would like to thank everyone who participated in the Heart Smarts event on Saturday, May 7th at the Hilton Baltimore. 

It was great to see so many people who are commited to improving their heart health.  This FREE public forum was hosted by the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) and included the personal stories of heart attack survivors WUSA-TV9's Bruce Johnson and WJLA-TV's Jennifer Donelan.

In this interactive forum, participants had the opportunity to ask questions and learn life-saving tips from a unique gathering of physicians and patients, including invaluable information on receiving the highest quality of care, as well as simple steps to reduce your heart disease risk factors.

The University of Maryland Medical Center provided free cardiovascular screenings.

Event partners included the University of Maryland Heart Center, Association of Black Cardiologists, American College of Cardiology, Mended Hearts and WomenHeart.
 

Another Successful Women's Heart Health Fair

Sister to Sister's 9th annual free Women's Heart Health Fair was held on February 6, 2009 at the Verizon Center.  Over 4,750 women turned out to get heart smart with lifestyle presentations, cutting-edge information on medical issues, and complimentary heart-health screenings.

Find out more about Sister to Sister's 2008-09 Women's Heart Health Fair in Washington, D.C.

 

Local Leadership

To find out how to get more involved with Sister to Sister in Washington, D.C., please contact Lisa Townsend.