An endowment dedicated to women's hearts

It is intolerable that cardiovascular disease should continue to be the symbol of inequality between men and women in the healthcare field. They kill 200 women every day in France, with delays in treatment due mainly to a lack of awareness of the reality. And yet, 8 out of 10 cardiovascular accidents are preventable thanks to a healthier lifestyle and appropriate screening.

Cardiovascular disease is no longer a male preserve.
men. With over 75,000 deaths a year in France, they are the leading cause of death among women, a fact that is still too little known, leading to delays in diagnosis and treatment. Yet women die 6 times more frequently from cardiovascular disease than from breast cancer.

Myocardial infarction is rising sharply among younger women in France: +5% of hospital admissions per year among women aged 45 to 55. This is due to deleterious changes in their lifestyle, with more smoking, stress, obesity and sedentary lifestyles... At the same age, women have more risk factors than men. Hypertension, diabetes and cholesterol have a more toxic impact on their arteries. Psychosocial factors are also more frequent in women, and have become a major cardiovascular risk factor.

Women are diagnosed late, with warning signals that differ from those of men, with serious consequences for their healthy survival.

Women are not sufficiently screened and monitored, despite the fact that their hormonal lives require sustained attention at three key phases: first contraception or its renewal, pregnancy and menopause. These epidemiological findings call for the development of coordinated cardio-gynecological care pathways for women at risk, along the lines of the "Women's Heart Centers" in the United States.

Women are less well cared for than men, with treatments that do not sufficiently take into account the specificities of their metabolism, as most cardiovascular research programs have been carried out on men... The disease also develops differently in women, with complex pathophysiological specificities linked to hormonal status.

"We must act, in the face of this medical and societal emergency, by going further, faster and more concretely in our alert, information and prevention approach", launches Pr Claire Mounier-Vehier, cardiologist at Lille University Hospital - Professor at Lille Universities and co-founder of the Endowment Fund. "My daily practice shows me that women neglect their health. Women believe they are protected until the menopause, don't feel concerned, are unaware of atypical symptoms and feel guilty about taking care of themselves5.... All these complex prejudices lead to lost opportunities, with inadequate, delayed or even non-existent care. We need to move towards coordinated care pathways, involving all healthcare professionals, but also providing women with key screening and follow-up information. To support them, all healthcare professionals need to pool and share their know-how in the field, mobilizing this exceptional collective intelligence. It is with this vision of transformation that Thierry and I are proud to combine our know-how, our savoir-faire and our savoir-être."

The involvement of Thierry Drilhon, corporate executive and director and former Chairman of the Franco-British Chamber of Commerce, as co-founder is highly symbolic of the Endowment Fund's commitment to a societal and international dimension involving players from business, civil life and healthcare in the image of the Board of Directors of Agir pour le Cœur des Femmes. "Together, we will create collective intelligence through an ecosystem of mobilized players. Alerting, Anticipating and Acting are our priorities for offensive prevention in the field, with the ambition of saving the lives of 20,000 women worldwide within five years" exposes Thierry Drilhon. "To achieve this goal, Claire and I are combining our medical, scientific, societal and economic expertise to make this health emergency a unique commitment and a health priority."


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