A coalition of distinguished women leaders and advocates has initiated a nationwide campaign aimed at enhancing heart health outcomes for women, who face double the risk of dying from heart attacks compared to men. This comprehensive initiative, known as the Women’s Heart Health Pledge, represents an ongoing commitment to revolutionize the approach to women’s cardiovascular health through educational efforts and systemic improvements in healthcare.
The campaign was inaugurated with a full-page open letter published in The New York Times Magazine on Sunday, October 8, and it is set to continue indefinitely, demonstrating an unwavering dedication to bring about substantial and enduring changes in women’s heart health.
The Women’s Heart Health Pledge seeks to raise awareness about concerning statistics in women’s healthcare that can lead to untreated symptoms, diseases, and fatalities. According to a report conducted by researchers from Hello Heart and the American Heart Association (AHA):
Women experiencing heart attack symptoms in emergency rooms wait 29% longer than men.
Women are seven times more likely than men to receive a misdiagnosis and be sent home from the emergency room during a heart attack.
53% of women hospitalized with a heart attack reported that their healthcare provider did not consider their symptoms heart-related during previous visits.
Maayan Cohen, CEO and co-founder of Hello Heart and the lead organizer of the pledge, emphasized, “The time for being a ‘patient’ patient is over. We cannot let women continue to die avoidable deaths from heart disease.” Cohen stressed the importance of equitable healthcare for every woman and the responsibility to break down existing barriers, ensuring that all women, regardless of their background, have access to the necessary tools and resources for a healthy life.
Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of Thrive Global and a leading signatory of the pledge, highlighted the unique opportunity to drive positive change in women’s health, calling for collective action to address the disparities in women’s cardiovascular health.
Volleyball player Asjia O’Neal, a signatory on the pledge, shared her personal experience and voiced her support, stating, “I’m proud to lend my voice to the Women’s Heart Health Pledge because I know that every woman deserves the same chance to triumph over heart-related challenges.”
The Women’s Heart Health Pledge boasts an impressive list of signatories, including prominent figures in various fields:
Maayan Cohen, CEO and Co-founder of Hello Heart
Arianna Huffington, Founder and CEO of Thrive Global
Asjia O’Neal, NCAA volleyball star and heart health advocate
Jermaine O’Neal, NBA All-Star
Lynn Shapiro Snyder, JD, Founder, Women Business Leaders Health Care Foundation
Peggy Hamburg, MD, Former Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration
Vinod Khosla, Co-founder, Khosla Ventures
Nasrien Ibrahim, MD, MPH Cardiologist and Founder, The Equity in Heart Transplant Project
Carolyn Everson, Board Member, The Walt Disney Company, Coca-Cola, and Under Armour
Sharon Rothstein, former Chief Marketing Officer, Starbucks
Barbara Rhoden, PhD, Chief Marketing Officer, Primasun
Phyllis Campbell, Former Vice Chair, JP Morgan
Neha Parikh, former CEO, Waze and Board Member, Carvana
Ruma Bose, Chief Growth Officer, Clearco
Wendy Nguyen, CMO, Hello Heart and Co-founder, Stand with Asian Americans
Luciana Borio, MD, Former FDA Chief Scientist and Partner at ARCH Ventures
Christy Chan, Filmmaker/Artist
Nancy Mastroianni, Head of Growth, HLTH
Erin Gallagher, CEO, Ella
Mita Mallick, Author, Chief Diversity Officer
Meesha Dugan, PhD, CEO, Cardio Diagnostics
Somesh Dash, General Partner, IVP
Ron Shah, Partner, Stripes
The Women’s Heart Health Pledge calls for several key actions, including increased funding and research for women’s heart health, system-wide changes that educate healthcare workers about the unique symptoms of women’s heart disease, providing women with tools for early detection, and creating public awareness programs that educate all Americans about women’s heart disease.
The coalition of women health leaders aims to close the gender gap in healthcare, ensuring that women from all backgrounds have equal opportunities to live longer, healthier lives. To learn more and endorse the Women’s Heart Health Pledge, visit womenforhearthealth.org.
About the Coalition of Women Health Leaders:
Comprising women leaders in healthcare, business, and community advocacy, this coalition is dedicated to sparking an urgent conversation on women’s heart health in medicine. Their mission is to reduce heart attacks and increase the longevity of women’s lives. They advocate for doctors to be trained in recognizing women’s physical symptoms of heart disease and for greater public awareness and research into women’s heart health.
