Taking action for women's hearts
A bus in priority neighborhoods to prevent cardiovascular disease in women
1st A cause of death in women, it is still too little known, leading to delays in diagnosis and treatment.
The Agir pour le cœur des femmes endowment fundled by Pr Claire Mounier-Vehier, cardiologist at the University Hospital of Lille, and Thierry Drilhon, President of the Franco-British Chamber of Commerce, has decided to take action through an alert, information and prevention initiative.
And because women in precarious situations are even more vulnerable to cardiovascular risks, Ramsay Sante corporate Foundation has decided to join forces with the Endowment Fund.
The Women's Heart Bus
The Foundation supports the Bus du Coeur operation, enabling women in precarious health and social situations to access information and dedicated screening in their own homes. It will enable healthcare professionals to screen for cardio-gynecological diseases, give advice on prevention, stress management, diet, sleep and physical activity , and sometimes put these women back into coordinated follow-up care, in partnership with local players.
The Bus du Coeur has started touring in 2021. It passed through Lille, Marseille, Avignon, La Rochelle, Saint-Etienne, Le Havre... 200 to 300 women were screened at each stop.
Health professionals take part in these stages on a voluntary basis. Some of these doctors and nurses come from establishments in the Ramsay Santé group.
" The study we carried out among women in vulnerable situations during the 2021 Women's Heart Bus tour showed that 90% of them accumulate at least two cardiovascular risk factors. This means that, sooner or later, they will become ill if nothing is done to control these risk factors. The Bus' mission is to give these women back the means to take care of their health, by integrating them into a cardio-gynecological care pathway with local healthcare professionals, mobilized around cardiovascular disease in women. " Professor Claire Mounier-Vehier, co-founder of Agir pour le Cœur des Femmes, cardiologist and vascular physician at Lille University Hospital.
More than 4,000 women have been screened to date.
And this is just the beginning.
The Heart Bus, 8 key stages in cardiovascular information and screening :
- welcome and information,
- interview with the doctor,
- blood pressure measurements,
- measurements of metabolic parameters (weight, height and body mass index) & capillary glucose and lipid assays,
- addictology interview,
- gynaecological interview,
- synthesis with the doctor,
- organization of follow-up and introduction to blood pressure self-measurement, with a free blood pressure self-measurement device, an explanation of the procedure and the records to be filled in.
2 additional steps since September 2022: a resting electrocardiogram, to detect heart rhythm disorders or the after-effects of a heart attack. Those most at risk will benefit from arterial ultrasound screening.
Agir pour le Cœur des Femmes published the first part of its Observatoire national de la Santé des Femmes in 2023.
Analysis of medical data from a panel of 4,300 women aged 14 to 95 (average age 54) screened on the Women's Heart Bus in 2021 and 2022 provides a unique panorama of women's cardiovascular and gynecological health in France.
With 90% of participants accumulating at least 2 cardiovascular risk factors, the risk is real and insufficiently managed. Moreover, the influence of economic and social insecurity on cardiovascular risk is not as great as one might imagine: ALL women are concerned.
- 90% of women have at least 2 cardiovascular risk factors
- 50% of women present at least 2 gyneco-obstetrical risk factors
- 51% of women with at least 2 cardiovascular risk factors also have at least 2 gyneco-obstetrical risk factors
- 79% of women have no cardiovascular follow-up at all
- 37% of women have no gynaecological follow-up at all
- 27% of women have a depressive syndrome
- 27% of women experience stress
- 39% of women have high blood pressure at screening
The medical data from 3,235 women screened during the 15 stages of the Women's Heart Bus in 2022 complements the data from 1,065 women screened during the 5 stages in 2021. They have been anonymized and analyzed by Patrick Devos, biostatistician, at the Lille University Hospital's Research and Innovation Department, and Pr Claire Mounier-Véhier, co-founder of Agir pour le Cœur des Femmes.
