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eart disease and stroke are the leading
causes of premat ure deat h for women
in Canada, k il ling fi ve times as many
women as breast cancer. Legendary director,
singer, actress, and producer Barbra Strei-
sand is on a mission to change that. She
co-founded the Women’s Heart Alliance to
prevent women from needlessly facing and
dying from heart disease and stroke. Noel
Bairey Merz, M.D., is the organization’s Scien-
tifi c Advisor and spoke with Streisand about
her deep commitment to this cause.Noel Bairey Merz How did you become
interested in advocating for those with
heart disease?
Barbra Streisand When I made my mov-
ie Yentl — in which a young woman gets an
education by pretending to be a man — I hadno idea the project would, in a roundabout
way, lead me to advocate for women’s heart
health. But years later, I read about “Yentl
syndrome,” a phrase coined to describe the
fi nding that women with heart attacks get
substandard care compared to men. That in-
equity persists to this day.NBM Why don’t more women know about
their risk?
BSIn a Women’s Heart Alliance survey, we
found that a lot of women are embarrassed
about having heart disease, others aren’t aware
that they have it, and many people think heart
disease strikes only old men. Too often, heart
disease deaths are wrongly attributed to natu-
ral causes or ailments and as a result, women
are not making a personal connection to heart
disease or sharing their stories.NBM In addition to promoting awareness
of women’s risk for heart disease, you’ve done
a lot to advocate for health care equity for
women. Why is that?
BSWe are decades behind in our knowl-
edge about what works for women with
heart disease compared to men because
clinical trials have traditionally included
more men than women. I remember learn-
ing how diff erent heart attacks in men
and women can seem, and how frequent-
ly women are misdiagnosed as a result. To
ensure that trials consider the diff erences
between the sexes, I encourage women to
participate. And I plan to keep urging and
advocating until we make real progress in
securing the education, research, and fund-
ing needed to properly diagnose and treat
women’s heart disease.Barbra Streisand Fights for
Equal Billing for Women’s Health
Heart Health
One treatment does not fit all.
Imagine two patients the same age, same sex and both with heart disease. Should they
be given the same treatment? Not necessarily. The Peter Munk Cardiac Centre is using the
power of artificial intelligence to provide personalized care for heart disease. It’s just one
way we’re shaping the future of cardiac care.
inaheartbeat.ca