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From Insight to Action: Driving Gender Equity in Cardiology after RISE @European Society of Cardiology Congress 2025
*Corresponding author: Sarita Rao, Department of Cardiology, Senior Intervention Cardiologist and Director CathLab Apollo Hospitals, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India. saritarosh@yahoo.com
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Received: ,
Accepted: ,
How to cite this article: Rao S. From Insight to Action: Driving Gender Equity in Cardiology after RISE @European Society of Cardiology Congress 2025. Indian J Cardiovasc Dis Women. 2025;10:168-70. doi: 10.25259/IJCDW_51_2025
INTRODUCTION
Interventional cardiology remains one of the most male-dominated medical specialties worldwide. While the representation of women in cardiovascular medicine has improved at the entry level, the proportion of women in interventional cardiology leadership remains critically low around 4% globally and in India.[1,2] This underrepresentation is not due to lack of talent, but to persistent barriers such as structural, cultural, and institutional that continue to limit opportunities for women cardiologists.
RISE (REGROUP, INSPIRE, STRENGTHEN, ENERGIZE): A GLOBAL CALL FOR LEADERSHIP
RISE was conceived as a response to the stark disparity in leadership roles for women in cardiology. Despite growing numbers of women in medical schools and residencies, their progression into leadership roles lags significantly. Studies consistently demonstrate that women cardiologists face inequities in pay, authorship, conference visibility, and access to research funding. The RISE Conference, an initiative of Women as One, has emerged as a pioneering platform to address these challenges. RISE creates a space for women cardiologists across continents to share their lived experiences, strategies for success, and visions for equity, and an excellent platform for networking and future opportunities.
The RISE Conference at European Society of Cardiology (ESC) 2025 in Madrid brought together more than 220 participants from across the globe, creating a platform where women in cardiology could speak candidly about barriers, opportunities, and the urgent need for equity.[3]
In the meeting, Borjana Pervan, Chief Operating Officer of the World Heart Federation (WHF), emphasized that gender equity in medicine is about more than representation: “We want to make sure 4 billion people – that’s half of us on this planet – have access to the rooms, to the tables, to the hospitals, to the innovation and research centers they need to enter to improve healthcare and save lives.”
Jean-François Riffaud, CEO of the ESC, highlighted that for the 1st time, ESC faculty representation was equal between men and women, though he admitted, “It’s not enough.” ESC President Thomas Lüscher noted that women now account for 40% of the ESC board, the largest segment to date, but stressed that inequities in care for female patients remain persistent.
In a leadership roundtable, AHA President Stacey Rosen highlighted that sponsorship means more than giving advice, it requires actively creating opportunities, ensuring women gain visibility and leadership roles, and placing them “in the room where the magic happens.” Athena Poppas (WHF President) reinforced that intentionality and accountability are crucial: “There has to be some data, and then we have to hold ourselves accountable for that.” She reminded participants that gender equality is not aspirational but a fundamental human right.
In the panel discussion titled “Heart Talk with the Global Community – Solutions in Practice,” Barbara Casadei urged the audience not to take progress for granted: “Progress is not linear and we cannot take it for granted for one second.” Dipti Itchhaporia (North America) emphasized the importance of finding one’s voice and learning when to say yes or no. Liesl Zühlke (Africa) spoke about her own journey as the “first” woman of color in several leadership roles and the responsibility that comes with it. Nouf Alanazi (Middle East) advised trainees to follow their passion but also to prioritize family whenever possible. Carla Agatiello (South America) highlighted the need for local training programs so that women do not always have to leave their countries to advance professionally, and myself Dr. Sarita Rao (Asia) spoke about the Indian and Asian experiences, struggles, solutions, and the journey to get there.
Dr. Sarita Rao: THE ASIAN EXPERIENCE IN RISE @ESC CONGRESS 2025
Representing Asia, I spoke about the reality for women in interventional cardiology in India. I shared how, at the start of my career, I was told: “You cannot do interventions – you are a woman. You cannot be in the cath lab – you are a woman. You cannot do live cases – you’re a woman. You cannot raise funding – you’re a woman. You cannot start your own conference, you’re a woman.” I also spoke about the status of women cardiologists in India, where challenges remained profound. Earlier there were no dedicated platforms for women to perform live cases, minimal representation at major conferences, and very limited participation of women cardiologists in clinical trials and research leadership. Henceforth, it became my responsibility to break those barriers and demonstrate that women could, and would, succeed in interventional cardiology.
In the beginning, I had to work 5 times harder to prove myself. The demands of establishing credibility came at the cost of work–life balance, and while I pursued my professional responsibilities, my family bore the silent burden of my absence frequently. Through sustained commitment, I performed over 35,000 interventional procedures, achieving several landmark “firsts” in India and Central India. These included the first women to do a live transcatheter aortic valve implantation, renal denervation, shockwave intravascular lithotripsy (IVL), orbital atherectomy, and laser atherectomy, hybrid aortic aneurysm repair, impella-supported percutaneous coronary intervention, and carotid lithotripsy. These accomplishments represent not only technical progress but also clear evidence that women can drive innovation and leadership in the catheterization laboratory. We have organized major national and international scientific meetings including the Women Cardiac Care Conferences, Shakti Conclave, and been co-course director at India LIVE, Indo Japanese Chronic Total Occlusion Club (IJCTO), and Complex High Risk Interventional Procedures (CHIP) India Innovations. These academic platforms have enhanced the visibility of women in interventional cardiology, advanced discourse on women’s cardiovascular health, and fostered mentorship across generations.
As President of the Women in Cardiology and Related Sciences (WINCARS) Association, Co-Chair of the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI), International and Partnership Affairs Board, SCAI International Committee member, and Women-In-Asian Pacific Society of Interventional Cardiology (WIN-APSIC) International Board member, we have worked to support early-career women cardiologists through multiple initiatives. These include the Prajwalika Scholarship Scheme, which has supported over 100 young women investigators, the Research Awards, WIN-APSIC Women Fellowships, and a range of educational webinars in collaboration with European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI), Cardiovascular Intervention and Therapeutics (CVIT), and Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI). In addition, we have organized interventional meets, masterclasses, and teaching courses under the WINCARS platform, all designed to provide mentorship, training, and leadership opportunities.
The journey of women in Indian cardiology has been shaped by pioneers who laid the foundation for today’s progress. Professor Dr. Sivaramakrishna Iyer Padmavathi, often called the First Lady of Cardiology in India, founded the Cardiology Department at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), and was instrumental in establishing cardiology as a specialty in the country. Her vision and leadership created opportunities for generations of cardiologists. Dr. Anita Saxena, another distinguished leader from AIIMS, has contributed extensively to congenital and pediatric cardiology, with groundbreaking work in rheumatic heart disease and pulmonary hypertension. Her clinical expertise and prolific research have advanced the understanding and management of heart disease in children and women in India. Several other senior women cardiologists across the country such as Dr. IB Vijayalakshmi, and many more have contributed to shaping cardiovascular medicine through their clinical acumen, academic contributions, and mentorship. Their work has paved the way for a new generation of women interventional cardiologists, who today are breaking barriers in leadership, research, and advanced procedural innovations.
At RISE, I emphasized how these initiatives are steadily transforming the landscape for women cardiologists in India. A key milestone has been the establishment of the Indian Journal of Cardiovascular Disease in Women, by Dr. Jyotsna Maddury, our visionary founder, the only journal worldwide dedicated exclusively to cardiovascular disease in women, now indexed in SCOPUS and providing a much-needed academic platform for gender-specific research.
CONCLUSION
The reflections shared at RISE @ ESC Congress 2025 underscore that the barriers facing women in interventional cardiology remain significant, yet they are not insurmountable. My own journey has shown that persistence, resilience, and the creation of new opportunities which can transform challenges into progress. Initiatives from WOMEN AS ONE and WINCARS have shown that mentorship, research platforms, academic visibility, hard work, and belief in our own abilities can turn barriers into opportunities.
References
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