The Staff of the
Women's Heart Institute
 | The Women's Heart Institute Medical Director, Dr. Debra R. Judelson |
Dr. Judelson is founder and medical director of the Women's Heart Institute, located in Southern California. She is a full-time practicing internist and cardiologist as a senior partner with Cardiovascular Medical Group of Southern California, located in Beverly Hills, California.
Dr. Judelson is active with local medical staffs and has served as Chief of the Medical Staff and Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of Westside Hospital in Los Angeles, California. She is an attending physician at many Los Angeles area hospitals including Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Century City Hospital, Brotman Medical Center, Midway Medical Center, and is a consultant at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and St. John's Medical Center. Dr. Judelson is also a physician preceptor for medical students at UCLA and at the University of Southern California.
Dr. Judelson received her MD from Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, in the Harvard-MIT Joint Program in Health Sciences and Technology in 1976. She is board certified in two specialties, Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Diseases. Prior to her medical education, Dr. Judelson attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she received an SB degree in Metallurgy and Materials Science Engineering. She was recognized by the American Society of Materials Science Engineering in 1972 as the "Outstanding Student Nationwide in Metallurgy and Materials Science Engineering". Dr. Judelson is married and has two teenage daughters.
As a strong advocate for women's health, Dr. Judelson is active with the American Medical Women's Association (AMWA) and served as their 1996-1997 President. AMWA is an organization of over 10,000 women physicians and medical students, serving as the unique voice for women's health. She has worked with AMWA and the American Heart Association to focus on educating physicians and consumers on Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) issues in women. As the creator of AMWA's "Education Project on Coronary Heart Disease in Women", Dr. Judelson has lectured nationally and has trained over thirty "master faculty" physicians to conduct educational programs in their local communities on the unique aspects of risk factors, impact of diet, differences in symptoms and outcome, and gender sensitive diagnostic testing of women for CHD. This program is nationally recognized and highly praised for raising public and medical community awareness of coronary heart disease in women and the importance of involving women in clinical trials.
An experienced speaker and writer, Dr. Judelson advocates for greater physician training of gender-sensitive issues in cardiovascular disease and other women's health conditions, increased research on women's health issues, as well as increased awareness of the importance of maintaining healthy lifestyles. She has been published in the Journal of the American Medical Women's Association, Managed Care Medicine, Patient Care, Cardio and Practical Cardiology and quoted in the Journal of the American Medical Association. She is a frequent contributor to website publications as well as popular print publications including Good Housekeeping, Prevention Magazine, Reader's Digest, Harper's Bazaar, Glamour, Self, Vogue and local and national newspapers. She has appeared on national television on Good Morning America, national news and the Oprah Winfrey Show. She authored the chapter on cardiovascular disease for The Women's Complete Healthbook, a 700-page medical reference book on women's health written by women physicians and health care professionals and published by AMWA in 1995. Dr. Judelson is the lead author of the Women's Complete Wellness Book, published by AMWA in 1998, emphasizing prevention, screening and early detection and designed to help women achieve their optimal level of health and wellness throughout all their life phases.
Dr. Judelson is the recipient of numerous community awards and accolades, including the Los Angeles County Certificate of Appreciation for Outstanding Contribution to the Status of Women, the Albert Schweitzer Award for Humanitarianism, Healthcare Excellence Wenger Award in 2000 from WomenHeart.org, and the City of Beverly Hills Certificate of Appreciation for Outstanding Community Service.
In addition to her active membership in AMWA, Dr. Judelson is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, American College of Chest Physicians, and the American College of Physicians. She is a member of the American College of Physicians-Society of Internal Medicine and served as the1996-1997 President of the California Society of Internal Medicine. She is a member and delegate to the American Medical Association and is the Chair of the Women Physicians Congress for the American Medical Association. Dr. Judelson chairs the Women's Health Policy Council of the Los Angeles County Office of Women's Health. She is past president of the Beverly Hills District of the Los Angeles County Medical Association and is a delegate to the California Medical Association. Dr. Judelson holds a California medical license and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the Subspecialty Board of Cardiovascular Diseases.
Because of her national recognition, expertise, educational achievements, personal interest and dedication to cardiovascular disease in women, Dr. Judelson is uniquely qualified to direct this program.
| The Associated Physicians of Cardiovascular Medical Group of Southern California (CVMG) |
The physicians of CVMG offer expertise in a wide range of cardiac and vascular conditions as well as in general internal medicine. Many are sub-specialty trained and have vast experience in the evaluation and treatment of lipid (cholesterol) abnormalities, hormonal deficiencies, chest pain syndromes, arrhythmias (irregular heart beats), congestive heart failure (shortness of breath), hypertension (high blood pressure), pulmonary hypertenison, cardiac catheterization and angiography, interventional cardiology (angioplasty, stent placements and opening closed blood vessels), varicose veins, and claudication (leg pain on walking).
The appropriate referral to sub-specialty physicians can be arranged on evaluation at the Women's Heart Insititute.
Last updated on October 17, 2002.