This year, the theme of the day is “investing in women: accelerating the pace”, which highlights the work of many women such as Professor Claire Mounier Vehier. Pr. Mounier Vehier is cardiologist and head of the vascular medicine and hypertension department at Lille University Hospital’s Heart-Lung Institute. Based on the fact that 75,000 women die every year in France from cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death among women, due to a lack of screening, ignorance of warning signs, and too-delayed treatment, in 2013 she created the “heart-arthritis-woman” coordinated care pathway.       

Before her, women like Francine Leca (b. 1938) paved the way. The first female cardiologist and the first female head of department in France, she is still active today thanks to her association “Mécénat Chirurgie cardiaque enfant du monde”. Professors Claire Mounier-Vehier and Francine Leca inspiring contributions nurture CASIS team motivation to support advancements in heart health, aiming to enhance access to early detection and care for women. Striving together for change.