Caroline Najjar, B.Sc.
Montreal, QC
MD. 2022 candidate
McGill University Faculty of Medicine
Montreal, QC
CWHHA Member since 2022
Biography
I am currently a fourth year medical student at McGill. I will be applying to the internal medicine residency program and hope to further match to cardiology. I have been interested in cardiology since my undergraduate years and have taken any opportunity I could to be involved in cardiology, whether it be in research, medical education, or extracurricular activities. Please refer to my CV for more specific details on the initiatives I have taken on.
When I heard about the Canadian Women’s Heart Health Center National Alliance from a current member, I knew immediately that I wanted to join because the cause truly speaks to my heart. It is surprising to me that to this day medical education focuses primarily on men’s health and does not focus enough on gender difference that exist in healthcare. In my teachings during medical school, most of our lectures focused on male patients and “typical” cardiac presentations. Many women who experience a cardiovascular event have “atypical” presentations, but they are not so atypical given how frequently they occur. During my second year of medical school, I attended the Women’s Heart Health Symposium at the MUHC. I remember a story that was told about a female patient who was busy cooking and organizing a family event during the holidays when she started feeling unwell. She pushed through it, as many women do, and she ended up having a myocardial infarction which she passed away from. I always think back to this story and wonder if she could have been saved if we educated more people on female-specific signs of CVD, and how many other women have stories like hers. I hope to get a chance to be a part of this incredible initiative and offer any help I can to the cause to change the way gender differences are viewed (or not viewed) in regards to cardiovascular disease.
