Concord Doctor Making Trip to White House

White House staff members will host some of the nation’s leading cardiovascular health experts and specialists during its Community Leaders Briefing on Friday and they have invited Concord’s Dr. Malissa Wood to be a part of it.

“As a physician devoted to the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease in women, I’m very excited to take part in this forum on cardiovascular health,” Wood said in a statement released by the American Heart Association.

Run by top officials in the Obama administration, the Community Leaders Briefing Series hosts members of communities from around the country whom President Barack Obama believes are making a difference at a grassroots level. Guests discuss issues affecting their respective communities and then hear from members of the administration who relate how the White House is addressing those issues.

Dr. Wood has served many years as a volunteer for the American Heart Association, in addition to her regular work as an echocardiographer and co-director of the Mass General Hospital Heart Center Women’s Health Program. For the American Heart Association, Wood is co-chair for the Boston Heart Ball, and a member of both the Advocacy Advisory Committee and the Boston Go Red for Women Campaign. She has also made public appearances at locales like the Concord Bookshop to discuss her Smart at Heart book.

Dr. Wood said that she relishes the chance to share a room with other likeminded individuals in Washington.

“Through important dialogues like this one, we can examine ways to fight cardiovascular diseases – America’s number one killer – as a nation and in our communities,” Wood said.

American Heart Association representatives related that quality cardiovascular care, cardiovascular research, tobacco policy, and health disparities among women and minorities will be the topics of discussion on Friday with a strong focus on the “Million Hearts” initiative, which seeks to prevent one million heart attacks and strokes over the next five years.

“Less than 1 percent of the U.S. public meets the American Heart Association’s criteria for ideal heart health,” Wood continued in her statement. “Community briefings like this are invaluable tools in our effort to reverse this alarming trend and help all Americans build lives free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke.”