#HealthEquity

The Invisible Weight of Rare Disease: Why Caregivers and Heart Valve Families Are Burning Out

At HeartBridge Collective (HBC) , we support patients and caregivers alike — because rare disease is never a solo journey. It affects the whole household, the whole family, and often the same two people day after day. When a rare disease is discussed, the focus is usually on the patient. But standing right beside them is a caregiver whose physical, emotional, and mental health are also on the line. Research now confirms what families have been saying for years: the emotiona

4 days ago3 min read

Systemic Silence: Why Black Women Are Still Dying of Heart Disease

Our Most-Listened Episode of 2025 🌟 This episode showed up big on Spotify Wrapped — with 63% more listens than any other episode this year. And honestly, that doesn’t surprise me. Because this conversation needed to happen. ❤️ Why This Episode Matters In this roundtable episode of Heart to Heart Talk, I sat down with Azure Burrell and Katherine Waddell to talk about an issue that still doesn’t get the attention it deserves: Black women’s heart health . 🫀 Heart diseas

Dec 25, 20252 min read

💥 If IRBs Want to Protect Us, They Need to Hear Us — All of Us

I’ve been thinking about something we don’t talk about enough in the research world: Sometimes the very systems meant to protect us end up silencing us . We see it with pregnant women being excluded from studies. But let’s be honest — it doesn’t stop there. 🚫 Safety Shouldn’t Mean Exclusion IRBs (Institutional Review Boards) exist to keep people safe. I respect that. Their mission is critical. But safety shouldn’t mean exclusion. And protection shouldn’t mean making decisi

Nov 20, 20253 min read

🚨When the System Makes You Wait for Hope: Surviving the Valley of Death

When I first started speaking up about my story, I had no idea how much it would teach me.I never imagined my journey could be used to highlight gaps in our healthcare system—or to help push for solutions that give patients real hope. 🫸 The Waiting Game The truth is, even after the FDA approves a breakthrough treatment , patients often still have to wait years for Medicare to decide if it will be covered. That waiting period is sometimes called the “valley of death.” I know

Nov 18, 20253 min read

Medical Innovation Is Moving Fast—But Ethics Needs to Catch Up 🚨

We are living in an extraordinary era for medicine. Every day, it seems we hear about new breakthroughs, from revolutionary medical...

Sep 2, 20253 min read

You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know—And That’s Dangerous

I didn’t know heart disease kills more women than all cancers combined . I didn’t know it’s the #1 killer of women , taking one woman...

Feb 13, 20252 min read

"If no one else was telling their story, then maybe I needed to tell mine. And maybe, just maybe, that would give others permission to share theirs too."