For women, heart disease prevention remains critical, particularly for younger ages, despite the fact that awareness is at an all time high. More than ever, women know that heart disease is their No. 1 killer, yet millions still underestimate their personal risk and the impact can be devastating. African-American women, in particular, are disproportionately affected by heart disease and have higher rates for some of its risk factors.

As we approach National Wear Red Day on Feb. 5, Americans are encouraged to wear red to remind women that heart disease is their No. 1 killer. The Red Dress is the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness. Wear a red shirt, tie, dress or a Red Dress Pin on this national day to help inspire women to take action to reduce their risk for heart disease.

AIDS activist Clifton Lee Maxwell 59 of Clairton died Jan. 9 at his home in Wilkinsburg. He was born March 6, 1950 in McKeesport and was a 1968 graduate of Clairton High School. He served on the board of directors of the Southwestern Pennsylvania AIDS Planning Coalition and was the chairman of the corrections committee.

CLIFTON LEE MAXWELL

Also he was awarded the James E. Dixon Humanitarian Award for HIV Prevention. He was a former member of the State Planning Committee in Harrisburg. He also was co-owner of Jus Us in Clairton. He was a Navy veteran who served in the Vietnam war.

BLACK SURGEONS—In an effort to increase the number of Africvan-American surgeons, a career panel of African-American surgeons with connections to the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine was held Jan. 15, in Scaife Hall, Lecture Room 3. Dr. Velma Scantlebury, transplant surgeon, Christiana Care Health System, Del., was the moderator. From left: Bradley Stephens (fourth year med student), P. Date’ Ogagen (third year urology resident), Scantlebury, Tracy Short (fourth year general surgeon, UPMC Mercy), William Simmons, (clinical assistant professor of anesthesiology, UPMC Shadyside).

Patient race, gender and insurance status influence decisions about who will go on to receive liver transplants, according to a University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study. Available online and published in the “American Journal of Transplantation,” the study indicates that women, Blacks and patients with Medicare who are in end-stage liver disease are less likely to be referred and evaluated for liver transplantation.

Out of the 877,000 physicians and surgeons in the United States in 2008, only 6.2 percent, or 54,374, were African-American, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The National Library of Medicine and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African-American History and Culture hope to change all that with their traveling exhibit, Opening Doors:  Contemporary African-American Academic Surgeons.

EXHIBIT—The University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences Library System hosts the traveling exhibit, “Opening Doors: Contemporary African-American Academic Surgeons,” through Jan. 28, at Falk Library, 200 Scaife Hall, Oakland. The exhibit is open during regular library hours.

“In 2007, the Health Sciences Library System submitted a proposal to the National Library of Medicine to host this exhibit and, happily, our application was successful,” said Barbara Epstein, director of the University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences Library System. “We felt that bringing this exhibit to the health sciences community in Pittsburgh would stimulate interest in learning more about the achievement of these exemplary pioneers and motivate students to follow in their footsteps.”