Barbra Streisand Donates $5 Million for Women’s Heart Center

Perhaps it’s because she holds so dear a place in so many people’s hearts, or perhaps it’s simply because she’s aware of the seriousness of cardiovascular disease for the female population. Either way, Barbra Streisand has made a generous donation of $5 million to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to create a new women’s heart center.

Cardiovascular disease kills nearly 500,000 women each year in our country alone, and although it’s the nation’s leading killer of women, the majority of heart disease research is focused on men. Therefore, most testing and treatment methods are based on male patterns.

Babs‘ donation will create the Barbra Streisand Women’s Cardiovascular Research and Education program, which she hopes will increase the amount of research done on female heart disease as well as awareness. More research into the role of gender in heart disease will take place.

Streisand said, “Women need to be educated about female cardiovascular disease, and the medical community must be propelled toward change. Just like with breast cancer, the impetus must come from women themselves, striving to become empowered to reduce their risks for heart disease.”

Photo courtesy of starpulse.com