A summit on women's heart health: an opportunity to reflect, act, and innovate

Hosted by the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and Heart & Stroke, the Canadian Women’s Heart Health Summit was an opportunity for experts from around the country to gather and reflect about the past, act in the present, and shape the future of women’s heart, brain, and vascular health. The event is the only one of its kind and has become a national reference point for health professionals, researchers, and community partners who are committed to advancing women’s health. 

Nesrine Ragguem, president and CEO of the Montreal Heart Institute, attended the Summit with Alain Gignac, president and CEO of the MHI Foundation, and Flavie Laroque, senior advisor, strategic communications.

“The Canadian Women’s Health Heart Summit was an opportunity for me to learn, to help contribute to the Foundation’s reflective process, to validate our strategic directions, and to establish connections,” said Ms. Laroque.

Attending this event is tantamount to being part of a movement dedicated to health equity. That is to say, recognizing the specific challenges women face in terms of cardiovascular diseases. Challenges that are still too often overlooked or even neglected. 

One highlight of the summit was a panel on artificial intelligence featuring two experts – one being Dr. Robert Avram, cardiologist and researcher at the MHI – who discussed their different visions. Presented in the form a “for or against AI” debate, the discussion shed a light on both the possibilities and constraints associated with using artificial intelligence to improve care for women.

Both participants highlighted major issues. For instance, although there is a great potential for AI to enhance the detection of specific cardiovascular diseases in women, its effectiveness is directly tied to the quality of the data on which it is trained. For AI to become a significant force for health equity, more inclusive and diverse databases need to be built. In other words, women need to be better represented in research.

“The debate on artificial intelligence was a highlight of the Summit. It was light-hearted, funny, and extremely thought-provoking. It’s inspiring to know that the MHI is already at the forefront of these challenges. In fact, it has been developing algorithms to better detect arrhythmias with a specific focus on the need to address the gap in women's cardiovascular health,” said Ms. Laroque.

The MHIF and MHI’s attendance at this summit is part of its clear-cut ambition to stay attuned to challenges, be at the forefront of best practices, and above all, actively contribute to a more equitable and fair health care for all women.