Dr. Sharonne N. Hayes, MD, FACC, FAHA
Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, Founder, Women’s Heart Clinic
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
Dr. Sharonne N. Hayes is Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine and founded and maintains an active clinical practice in the Women’s Heart Clinic at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Dr. Hayes has long advocated for the advancement of women’s health and sex-based medicine within the field of cardiology and many other areas that affect women’s health and well-being. Dr. Hayes previously served as Mayo Clinic’s first Director of Diversity and Inclusion in 2010. With leadership she set strategy for D&I activities across Mayo Clinic and developed solutions for equity in patient care and the workforce. Under her leadership, Mayo Clinic was nationally recognized for its D&I accomplishments. She also directed of the Mayo Clinic’s Office of Women’s Health, has led efforts to optimize women’s health clinical practice and research activities at Mayo Clinic and developed programs to enhance the professional and personal development and mentorship of women and minority physicians in order to promote a more diverse workforce at Mayo and in the field of medicine. In 2017 she was recognized by the AHA with the Women in Cardiology Mentoring Award. She serves as a founder of Time’s Up Healthcare and is a tireless advocate for safe, equitable, and dignified healthcare workplaces that promote high-quality patient care and has developed programs to assess and mitigate unconscious bias in healthcare.
Dr. Hayes is a member of a number of national initiatives and groups involved in education, strategic planning, and program development for improvement of health care and reduction of health disparities. She helped develop the NHLBI’s Heart Truth (“Red Dress”) campaign, is active with AHA’s Go Red Campaign and served on the Board of Directors for WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease. With WomenHeart, Dr. Hayes coordinates the Science and Leadership Symposium for Women with Heart Disease, held annually at Mayo Clinic, aimed at preparing heart disease survivors to be advocates and educators for other women. Her commitment to women’s heart health has been recognized by the 2002 Wenger Award, an invitation from First Lady Laura Bush to speak at the White House for the 1st National Wear Red Day in 2004, and a Woman’s Day Magazine “Red Dress Award” in 2009. Dr. Hayes research interests include sex and gender-based cardiology, cardiovascular conditions primarily affecting women, spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD), fibromuscular dysplasia, health equity, participation of women and minorities in medical research, healthcare workforce equity, and the utility and optimal role of social media in clinical practice, medical research and health education.
Dr. Hayes is a nationally recognized educator and speaker on diversity, women’s health and cardiovascular issues and has developed numerous medical educational programs on women’s health and health equity topics for both medical professionals and the public. In 2004, Dr. Hayes co-produced the Emmy-nominated PBS show, “Call to Action: Women and Heart Disease”. In 2011 she co-hosted and moderated In the Prime of Her Life — A Mayo Clinic Media Briefing on Women and Heart Disease held in February at the Paley Center for Media in New York City. She has been a guest on the Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, Talk of the Nation, and the Dr. Oz Show among others, and has also done live medical reporting for a local ABC affiliate. She serves on the advisory board for Woman’s Day and Diabetic Living magazines.
Dr. Hayes received her medical degree from Northwestern University in Chicago and pursued fellowships in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Research, and Cardiovascular Diseases at Mayo Clinic Rochester, joining the Mayo staff in 1990. She is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association, has served in a number of volunteer leadership roles for AHA at the local, regional and national level and is a member of the Association of Black Cardiologists.