For the second consecutive year, La Palmosa Hospital is raising awareness among women about cardiovascular diseases in Menton.

Cardiovascular health was at the heart of the "Women's Heart Day" event this Tuesday at La Palmosa Hospital. For the second year, the Menton hospital organized this day—which plays an innovative and major role in the prevention and local screening of these diseases among the most vulnerable women—in collaboration with the national association "Acting for Women's Hearts" and local stakeholders, including the French National Health Insurance Fund, the French Riviera CPTS (Personal Health and Social Services), the PMI (Personal Health Insurance Fund), and the Menton Nursing Training Institute (IFSI).

Leading cause of death in France among women

An alarming finding: according to a national survey conducted by "Acting for Women's Hearts," cardiovascular disease—the leading cause of death among women in France—is completely unknown. Moreover, one in two women report never having discussed these conditions or the associated risk factors with a healthcare professional. Other worrying figures: of the 7 million women who report being in poor or even mediocre health, 60% suffer from one or more chronic illnesses, and one in five from a cardiovascular disease specifically.

Suffice it to say that women's health remains taboo, especially since nearly three-quarters of them do not take care of their own health, saying they are more concerned about that of their loved ones. Often, they have left the medical community and have not received any follow-up care for several years.

It is therefore important to raise awareness among them at all stages of life, whether they are teenagers, of childbearing age, or post-menopausal. This is the goal of this association, which has made women's hearts its fight and organizes days "to alert, anticipate, and act" throughout France, but also to compensate for the lack of permanent care in certain areas.

In Menton, the team of around thirty volunteers (cardiologist, gynecologist, midwife, vascular doctor, private general practitioners and nursing students) mobilized yesterday to offer around forty women from the Menton area, aged 40 to 80, a complete and free course, in six stages linked by a follow-up booklet: blood pressure measurement, weight, height, electrocardiogram, blood and urine tests, interview with different doctors (cardiologist, gynecologist, etc.) to assess their risk factors and give them advice, while recommending additional examinations if necessary (mammogram, smear test, etc.).

An insidious disease

"Women don't necessarily have visible cardiovascular problems because they are protected by female hormones. But after the age of 50, at menopause, and up to ten years later, they catch up with men in terms of risk and are equal to them! This disease of aging of the body evolves insidiously over the years, through the accumulation of factors (obesity, diabetes, tobacco, cholesterol, hypertension, stress, junk food, etc.) that add up layer upon layer in the arteries, brain, and general health. We don't see them unless we go looking for them. That's why it's important to monitor ourselves over time," explains Irina Popescu, cardiologist at La Palmosa.

Women's care strengthened in hospital

Alongside the "Pink October" and "Pink Bus" operations dedicated to breast cancer, the National Endometriosis and High Blood Pressure Days, the hospital has strengthened its actions around the comprehensive care of women (cardiological, vascular, digestive health, etc.). Its care offering* has expanded with the arrival of a gynecologist last November, Dr. Kevin Guillez, and thanks to the establishment of a multidisciplinary team at the Local Perinatal Center, where all stages of the woman's life are monitored, from pregnancy to the postpartum period and later in life. The Menton hospital is now able to offer surgical care thanks to a technical platform that meets all of women's needs: hysteroscopy, laparoscopy, colposcopy, minimally invasive surgeries, pelvic ultrasound, fertility disorders, medical and surgical abortion, etc. Patients, who come from Menton, Monaco, Italy and the valleys, can thus benefit from these offers, on an outpatient basis, with the advantage of remaining in a human-sized establishment.

*To make an appointment: On Doctolib or at 04.93.28.77.80. Email: [email protected]