Built using cardiologist-vetted information and EmaEQ’s clinical AI layer, BARBRA offers trustworthy answers about heart health

NEW YORK, Sept. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Marking World Heart Day, Women’s Heart Alliance (WHA) is launching BARBRA, an AI support tool that gives women trustworthy, plain-language answers to their questions about heart health, in partnership with EmaEQ, the first AI for women’s health.

Named after WHA co-founder Barbra Streisand, a longtime advocate for equity in women’s cardiovascular health, BARBRA was designed to address a persistent gap in awareness and care. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S., yet WHA’s 2025 Cardiologist Survey found that only one in four of the women they treat know this. Two-thirds of cardiologists surveyed said they are treating more young women than five years ago.

Much of the research, clinical data, and guidance underlying heart care has historically focused on men. Women weren’t required to be included in federally funded U.S. clinical research until 1993, and many cardiovascular guidelines were developed from studies of mostly male patients. Most LLMs pull from that same skewed research base and don’t offer calibrated, women- specific guidance.

BARBRA was built to close that gap. Powered by EmaEQ’s clinical AI layer, the product of years of women’s health data and more than 10 million real-world conversations, BARBRA’s answers have been informed and vetted by WHA’s network of leading women cardiologists. BARBRA also includes licensed content from the American College of Cardiology’s CardioSmart patient education program, covering prevention topics such as nutrition, physical activity, smoking cessation, weight management, and stress.

“As cardiologists, we believe that women deserve heart-health information that is safe and trustworthy. BARBRA extends our reach by offering women a supportive, easy-to-use starting point to learn about prevention and understand potential risk factors,” said WHA chief medical advisor Holly Andersen, Attending Cardiologist, The New York Presbyterian Hospital, and Associate Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical Center, and WHA chief science advisor C. Noel Bairey Merz, director of the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. 

Artist, author and advocate Barbra Streisand stated, “For too long, women’s heart disease has been under researched, under recognized, under diagnosed and underfunded. I am honored that the Women’s Heart Alliance has named this innovative AI tool ‘BARBRA.’ It will help women understand their risks, recognize that their symptoms matter and feel empowered to speak up and seek care.”

Start chatting today with BARBRA to learn how to live a heart-healthy life at womensheartalliance.org.

*BARBRA is an education tool and does not diagnose or replace the guidance of a medical professional.

BARBRA’s development was supported in part by NewAmsterdam Pharma, a late-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to building a new standard of care for people living with cardiometabolic disease, and Avoq, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm.

About Women’s Heart Alliance
Women’s Heart Alliance is a national nonprofit dedicated to improving cardiovascular health and outcomes for women through education, awareness, research and advocacy. Co-founded in 2014 by women’s health advocate Barbra Streisand, the organization works to increase recognition of heart disease as the leading cause of death among women and to address enduring inequities in prevention, diagnosis, treatment, research, and access to quality care.

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SOURCE Women’s Heart Alliance