Press Release

WASHINGTON, DC (May 18, 2016) – Barbra Streisand, co-founder of the Women’s Heart Alliance, sent a letter to all U.S. Senators this week to encourage swift passage of the Advancing NIH Strategic Planning and Representation in Medical Research Act (S. 2745). The bipartisan legislation will lead to more prevention options, better treatment outcomes and, ultimately, cures for both women and men through strengthened analysis of and reporting on sex and gender differences in medical research. The full letter follows: Dear Senator: On the heels of National Women’s Health Week, we urge the full Senate to swiftly pass the Advancing NIH …

WASHINGTON, DC (January 26, 2016) – Following are statements from Women’s Heart Alliance (WHA) scientific and medical advisors in response to the American Heart Association’s (AHA) first-ever scientific statement addressing the distinct differences between heart attacks in men and women: “We continue to lose a woman every 90 seconds to heart disease,” said Dr. Noel Bairey Merz, Scientific Advisor to the Women’s Heart Alliance and Director of the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. “And although death rates from the disease have declined rapidly among older women, they have been virtually stagnant in young women over …

ORLANDO, FL (November 10, 2015) – The Women’s Heart Alliance survey data showcased at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions demonstrates the need for a national campaign to boost awareness about women’s heart disease, among both physicians and women at risk. Scientific advisors to the Women’s Heart Alliance, Dr. Noel Bairey Merz, director of the Barbra Streisand Women’s Health Center at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute and Dr. Holly Andersen, director of education and outreach at the Ronald O. Perelman Heart Institute at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center presented two abstracts that highlighted significant knowledge gaps that exist about heart disease …

October 23, 2015 – The Women’s Heart Alliance is calling upon Congress and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to act upon a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that finds stronger steps should be taken to understand the impact of sex and gender on disease in NIH-funded clinical research trials. When medical research, analysis and reporting takes into account differences between men and women, new findings translate into better diagnosis and treatment for women. Today’s GAO report finds that, despite the 1993 NIH Revitalization Act’s mandate that women and minorities be represented in NIH-funded clinical trials, sex and gender …

Dr. Murthy issues call to action at the launch of a partnership between Women’s Heart Alliance and Clinton Health Matters Initiative Barbra Streisand, who co-founded the Women’s Heart Alliance with Ronald O. Perelman, calls on young women to stop viewing heart disease as ‘an old man’s problem’ and to fight for gender equality in women’s heart health Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, the 19th U.S. Surgeon General, today urged Cal State LA students to take action against cardiovascular disease (CVD), which claims nearly 400,000 women’s lives each year, making it the number one killer of women. Dr. Murthy participated in a …

Los Angeles – The Clinton Health Matters Initiative, an initiative of the Clinton Foundation, is co-hosting the “Fight the Ladykiller” Codeathon with The Women’s Heart Alliance and Cal State LA October 2-4, 2015. This event will challenge college student developers and designers to build original and innovative prototypes of an app geared toward helping young women decrease their risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Industry leaders from the tech, design, and health fields will mentor participants and select the winning prototype after each team presents its ideas at the close of the event. The winning team will have an opportunity to …

Heart disease is the largest killer of women in the U.S. and worldwide, claiming a woman’s life every minute WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 29, 2015) – Barbra Streisand, co-founder of the Women’s Heart Alliance (WHA), will visit with senior members of Congress and top Administration officials today in Washington to advocate for awareness and action around the women’s heart health epidemic, which kills a woman every minute and nearly 400,000 women each year in the United States. Ms. Streisand, a passionate advocate for gender equality, will push Congress and the federal agencies for increased medical research funding for women’s heart disease; greater …

NEW YORK (April 23, 2015) – Speaking at the Women in the World Summit today, Barbra Streisand, co-founder of the Women’s Heart Alliance (WHA), detailed her commitment to eliminate heart disease in women and the grave gender disparities in how the disease is researched, funded and treated in women. The panel discussion, titled, “The Ladykiller” focused on the need to ignite a conversation and spur action on women’s heart health, as heart disease kills a woman each and every minute in the U.S. “We need to focus people’s minds on the battle for women’s hearts and lives,” said Ms. Streisand. …

LOS ANGELES (May 19, 2015) – Barbra Streisand, co-founder of the Women’s Heart Alliance (WHA), hosted a diverse group of celebrities, including Academy Award winner Helen Hunt, Emmy Award winner Jane Lynch, Golden Globe nominee Virginia Madsen, Ginnifer Goodwin, Sarah Chalke, Fran Drescher, Amanda Crew, Josh Brener, Danielle Panabaker, Carly Pope and Jimmy O. Yang, at an intimate celebrity tea at the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills Monday to encourage Hollywood elites to lend their strong voices to the fight against women’s heart disease. Ms. Streisand, who became involved in advocating for women’s heart health after learning about the medical …

March 31, 2015 – Barbra Streisand will be joining the Women in the World Summit at Lincoln Center on the afternoon of Thursday, April 23rd. The award-winning actress and singer will be discussing her personal quest to end heart disease — the number one killer of women, through a national awareness campaign she launched with Ronald O. Perelman called #FighttheLadykiller. Ms. Streisand will be joined by Dr. Holly Andersen, the Director of Education and Outreach at the Ronald O. Perelman Heart Institute of New York-­-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in a conversation moderated by Dr. Jennifer Ashton, the senior medical contributor to …

WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 26, 2015) — To bring increased attention to the number one killer of women, the Women’s Heart Alliance (WHA) has announced the creation of a powerful heart disease awareness campaign, to be conducted in partnership with the Clinton Health Matters Initiative (CHMI). The outline of the new campaign, which will launch in 2015, was announced at the Clinton Foundation’s Fourth Annual Health Matters Activation Summit. British A. Robinson, CEO of the WHA, and Dr. C. Noel Bairey Merz, Scientific Advisor to WHA and Director of the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, announced a …