Cedars-Sinai to Name Women's Heart Center for Barbra Streisand

The women's heart center in the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute will be named for Barbra Streisand in recognition of the entertainer's philanthropic commitment, the hospital announced Thursday.

"Women around the world are dying in alarming numbers from an epidemic of heart disease,'' Streisand said at an event at her Malibu home benefiting the center where she was joined by former President Bill Clinton.

"We can no longer afford the unfair misconception that heart disease is mostly a man's problem. Nothing could be further from the truth and in fact this fallacy relegates women to second-class citizens. The need for more research into women's heart disease is urgent.''

The Barbra Streisand Women's Heart Center will conduct research into female-pattern ischemic heart disease, the development of new diagnostic tools and specialized care for women, said Dr. C. Noel Bairey Merz, who will be the center's director.

Streisand's commitment will also allow for an expansion of research into microvascular coronary dysfunction, which mostly affects women and goes undetected in standard heart disease tests and the power of female stem cells in regenerating healthy heart muscle after a heart attack, along with programs in prevention and education, Merz said.

"Barbra Streisand's leadership allows us to dedicate significant resources to women's heart health care, education and research,'' said Dr. Eduardo Marban, the director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. "With heart disease the No. 1 killer of women, we need this level of significant investment to find innovative solutions.''

Merz called Streisand "an inspired and tireless partner for Cedars-Sinai, helping us to spread the world globally about the need to improve treatment and research of women's heart disease.''