On April 16th, 2008, Barbra Streisand endowed $5 million to Cedars-Sinai for the creation of The Barbra Streisand Women’s Cardiovascular Research and Education Program. Here you can find more information on the endowment and news about the program.

CEDARS-SINAI WOMEN'S HEART CENTER
Official Website

TRANSCRIPT OF REMARKS AT THE DEDICATION CEREMONY
June 26, 2008

Five hundred thousand women in the United States die from heart disease each year…more than all other cancers combined.  That is a staggering number.  Tragically, too often women are unaware of the danger of cardiovascular and heart disease. Many people still think heart disease is just a man’s disease, but in fact, it’s the number one killer of women in America.  That’s why it’s so important that women empower themselves and get educated about female cardiovascular disease.  It’s also important that the medical community expand its research to better understand the gender differences in this area.

I made this gift to support cardiac research for women at the Women’s Heart Center because for decades women have been treated based on medical research done on men.  That seems ridiculous!!  How can you treat a woman for such a life-threatening ailment based on treatments, diagnostics and technologies created for men?

Thanks to Cedars-Sinai and the brilliant Doctor Noel Bairey Merz, the medical community will finally be catching up.  Proper research will be conducted and communicated to women so that they will be more informed about their own health.   The Heart Center is where it’s at - emotionally, culturally, psychologically and physically.

I am so happy to be a part of this bold new initiative at Cedars-Sinai and I know the work done by Dr. Merz and her colleagues at the Heart Center will help save many lives and serve countless women for generations to come.

Thank you Marge Tabankin (and Rupa), my friends… and thank you all for being here.

USEFUL DOCUMENTS:
Summary of the Streisand WHC Endowment
Overview of Yentl Syndrome
Sex Differences Executive Summary
Expoloring the Biological Contributions to Human Health: Does Sex Matter?
New Light on Yentl Syndrome

Note: Documents require the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.
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