Advancing Personalized Approaches to Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Women

Priya M. Freaney, MD, is an assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology. A clinician-educator, Freaney’s clinical work aims to expand women’s heart care programs at Northwestern Medicine and beyond, and her research focuses on preventing heart disease in women. 

What are your research interests? 

My research focuses on the prevention of heart disease in women, with an emphasis on sex-specific risk factors such as pre-eclampsia and premature menopause. In 2022, I launched the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute Postpartum Hypertension Program, which serves as a key platform for our clinical research. I am interested in refining how we detect subclinical cardiovascular disease in these high-risk women, and personalizing prevention strategies to mitigate the burden of overt cardiovascular disease.   

What is the ultimate goal of your research? 

The overarching goal of my research is to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in women. By integrating imaging, digital technologies and interdisciplinary care models, I aim to develop adaptable, evidence-based frameworks that address the unique cardiovascular risks women face across the life course.  

How did you become interested in this area of research? 

During training, I became aware of significant knowledge gaps in how cardiovascular disease presents and progresses in women, especially among those with nontraditional or sex-specific risk factors. Despite being the leading cause of death in women, heart disease remains understudied in this population. I felt compelled to focus my work on closing this gap — not only to ensure that women who have already developed cardiovascular disease receive the highest quality, data-driven care, but also to shift the focus upstream toward prevention. My goal is to help women live longer, healthier lives, free from preventable cardiovascular events. 

What types of collaborations are you engaged in across campus (and beyond)? 

I collaborate with colleagues across cardiology, the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, the Division of Internal Medicine, Perinatal Pathology, obstetric anesthesia, the Department of Preventive Medicine, and others. These partnerships support interdisciplinary research on pregnancy-related cardiac risk and novel strategies to refine this risk. I also work with investigators at other institutions, in building multi-center registries and conducting randomized controlled trials.  

Where have you recently published papers? 

Our work has been published in a range of high-impact peer-reviewed journals, including JAMA, JAMA Cardiology, Circulation, Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging and the American Journal of Preventive Cardiology, among others.  

Who inspires you?  

So many people! I have been incredibly fortunate to be mentored by several leaders in cardiology and women’s health, whose guidance has been instrumental in shaping both my research perspective and clinical approach. My parents — physicians who immigrated from India — modeled discipline, purpose and integrity, values that continue to guide me. I'm especially motivated by my patients: women whose resilience and complexity push me to ask better questions, pursue more inclusive science and never lose sight of the human impact of our work. Finally, my greatest day-to-day sources of inspiration are my husband, Jonathan, a scientist himself who expands my perspectives, and our two children, who remind me why investing in the future of medicine matters.