“It is up to you to take charge of your heart health,” declares the renowned singer and actress.
Barbra Streisand is concerned about the cardiovascular health of women.
“Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women,” states the renowned singer and actress, who co-founded the Women’s Heart Alliance in 2014 alongside tycoon Ron Perelman.
“Fifteen years ago I read a story in The New York Times about gender differences in heart health,” adds Streisand, who is 79 years old. “I was shocked to learn that more women are dying from cardiovascular disease than from all cancers combined and aren’t receiving the same attention in diagnosis and treatment as men.”
Her name may also be seen on the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles, which is a testament to her dedication to furthering research on women’s heart health. “It just never made sense to me that women and men weren’t treated equally,” she explains.
Her desire to encourage and educate women to take control of their health only grew as she learned more about the disparities between men and women in terms of heart disease prevention. “Doctors are often dismissive when women complain of what could be symptoms of heart problems,” according to her. “For so many years, heart disease was thought of as a man’s disease, and women with similar or more unique symptoms were often misdiagnosed as having digestive problems or being emotionally stressed.”
