VIRGO NEWSLETTER
May 2008

Beginning Site Enrollment Yale University's Virgo Team would like to thank ALL sites for your time and participation in the site call selection process! We now have over 120 participating sites. We will be sending out materials to you via email starting the week of May 12th. The site packet will include a welcome letter from our principal investigators, a request for an IRB fee waiver, your site vendor agreement, and the updated VIRGO study protocol. Due to the large number of participating sites, we will prepare sites for enrollment in smaller groups on a rolling basis over the next few weeks. We will be posting the baseline interview, chart abstraction form and data dictionary, IRB templates (including the Virgo Study Protocol for the IRB submission, consent forms, and HIPAA waiver forms), on the VIRGO website.www.virgostudy.com

Related News
Younger Women Miss Heart Attack Signs, article featured on WebMD. The study, led by our Co-Principal Investigator Judith Lichtman, PhD, MPH, found that many women under 55 aren't seeking timely treatment for a heart attack because they expect the warning signs and their reaction to follow a Hollywood script - tightening in the chest, shortness of breath, clutching the heart while dropping to one knee. Many of the women said they didn't receive prompt care for their symptoms. Some said they called their physician and got an appointment within a few days or experienced long delays in the emergency room because they were triaged for non-cardiac conditions. "While this was not the experience for all women, repeated stories of being triaged initially for non-cardiac conditions suggest that additional work is needed to help young women, their families, and healthcare providers recognize that young women with heart disease may present with typical and atypical symptoms," Lichtman said. The findings were recently presented at the American Heart Association's 9th Scientific Forum on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke. For more information please visit the Virgo website under "Virgo in the News" tab. www.virgostudy.com

Looking Ahead
We will begin site training in mid-June and anticipate beginning subject enrollment mid-July.

The Go Red For Women Campaign
We are excited to be teaming up with the Go Red For Women campaign to help launch the VIRGO Study. The study team is working closely with the American Heart Association (AHA) to disseminate study updates and information through various channels, including online at www.goredforwomen.org.

A message from Go Red: Go Red For Women is the American Heart Association's national movement to make women aware of their risk for heart disease, the No. 1 cause of death among women, and take action to reduce their risk. Now you can join the movement to connect with colleagues and patients nationwide who share your passion to prevent heart disease. Visit www.GoRedForWomen.org/professionals to register and see how you can help your patients live longer and stronger.

For further information please contact:
Monique Plinck, Study Coordinator
monique.plinck@yale.edu or (203) 764-5694 or (203) 764-5700