No Heart Left Behind program inspires teens to help moms

Ambrosia Mondoa was well on her way to becoming one of the more than half-million American women who die from cardiovascular disease each year. Her daughter, Matanda, encouraged her to participate in the No Heart Left Behind (NHLB) program. Together, they learned about the risk of heart disease and how to adopt heart-healthy lifestyles.

Matanda and the NHLB program so inspired Ambrosia that she adopted a heart-healthy diet and began exercising. After achieving these goals, Ambrosia decided to inspire others. She is now a tireless advocate for women’s heart health and spreads the word throughout her community, church, school and professional organizations.

“I am passionate about spreading the message to women of color, since they have an even higher incidence of heart disease,” Ambrosia says. “I can’t tell you how valuable No Heart Left Behind is for mothers and the daughters who inspire them.”

Each year, heart disease kills more than twice as many women as all cancers combined. African-American women are 35 percent more likely to die from heart disease than non-Hispanic white women.

No Heart Left Behind is the brainchild of Kathleen McNicholas, M.D., a Christiana Care cardiac surgeon and medical director for Performance Improvement and Surgical Utilization Management. The Center for Heart & Vascular Health and the Delaware Center for Health Promotion sponsor the program.