The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute honors the pioneering women who participated in the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) – one of the largest women’s health projects ever launched in the United States – for their critically important contributions to advancing women’s health.
The WHI, first awarded in 1992, studied strategies to prevent heart disease, breast and colorectal cancer, and osteoporosis in more than 161,000 post-menopausal women aged 50–79 years.
Findings from the study have changed the face of women’s health and medical practice around the world by providing practical information to women and their physicians about hormone therapy, dietary patterns, calcium/vitamin D supplementation, and their effects on the prevention of heart disease, cancer and osteoporotic fractures.
