Heart disease is the

心脏病是

number one cause of death for women in the U.S.

美国女性的头号死因

, but women with cardiovascular risk factors often don’t get the treatment they need until it’s too late. In response to emailed questions,

，但有心血管风险因素的女性往往在为时已晚之前无法得到所需的治疗。针对电子邮件提问，

Systole Health

收缩期健康

CEO and Co-founder Dr. Simin Gharib Lee talked about how her company is addressing this medical need.

首席执行官兼联合创始人西敏·加里卜·李博士谈到了她的公司如何应对这一医疗需求。

Why did you start this company?

为什么你创办了这家公司？

I started Systole because I kept seeing the same problem over and over again: women showing up in my clinic post pandemic with weight gain, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, new diagnoses of prediabetes or diabetes, and some with their first heart attacks. They were stuck in a fragmented system that wasn’t built to help them.

我创立了 Systole，因为我不断看到同一个问题反复出现：疫情后女性来到我的诊所，体重增加、高血压、高胆固醇、新诊断出的前驱糖尿病或糖尿病，还有一些人遭遇了她们的首次心脏病发作。她们被困在一个支离破碎的系统中，而这个系统并没有为她们提供帮助。

They bounced between overwhelmed primary care doctors and specialist waitlists, sometimes waiting up to two years to even .

他们辗转于不堪重负的初级保健医生和专科医生的候诊名单之间，有时甚至要等上两年。

start

开始

treatment.

治疗。

The reality is, we don’t have enough cardiologists to take care of every woman at risk for heart disease. And the ones who

现实情况是，我们没有足够的心脏病专家来照顾每一位有心脏病风险的女性。而且那些心脏病专家...

do

做

get through often spend just a few rushed minutes with their doctor before being sent on their way.

经常只需花几分钟匆忙地与医生沟通，然后就被打发走人。

I knew there had to be a better way. What if we gave women time, access, education, and a sense of community

我知道一定有更好的办法。如果我们给予女性时间、途径、教育和社区归属感，会怎样呢？

before

之前

they ever developed a heart attack or stroke? That’s why I built Systole — group virtual care for women’s cardiometabolic health, led by expert clinicians, designed to actually move the needle on prevention and treatment.

她们是否曾心脏病发作或中风？这就是我创建Systole的原因——由专业临床医生主导的女性心血管代谢健康群体虚拟护理，旨在真正推动预防和治疗的进展。

What need are you seeking to address in healthcare?

您在医疗保健领域希望解决哪些需求？

Heart disease is the number one killer of women, but our healthcare system still doesn’t treat it that way. Women’s cardiovascular risk factors — high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, metabolic dysfunction — are underdiagnosed, undertreated, and often ignored until it’s too late. By the time many women receive treatment, they’ve already suffered a heart attack, heart failure, or other serious cardiovascular event.

心脏病是女性的头号杀手，但我们的医疗系统仍未将其视为如此。女性的心血管风险因素——高血压、高胆固醇、肥胖、代谢功能障碍——往往未被充分诊断、治疗不足，并且常常被忽视，直到为时已晚。许多女性在接受治疗时，已经经历过心脏病发作、心力衰竭或其他严重的心血管事件。

And even then, their care remains fragmented, with little structured guidance on how to prevent another event from happening..

即使在那时，他们的护理仍然是零散的，几乎没有关于如何防止另一事件发生的结构性指导。

We also have a massive

我们也有一个庞大的

access

访问

problem. There are simply not enough cardiologists, and the pipeline isn’t growing fast enough to keep up with demand. That means long wait times, brief visits, and countless women left in limbo without the care they need.

问题。心脏科医生的数量根本不够，而且人才输送管道的增长速度不足以满足需求。这意味着等待时间长、就诊时间短，还有无数女性在得不到所需护理的情况下陷入困境。

Systole is solving both problems — by offering comprehensive, accessible, and evidence-based group virtual care that scales. Whether a woman is at risk for heart disease and wants to prevent it, or has already had a cardiovascular event and needs expert support to recover and stay healthy, we provide the education, treatment, and community that traditional healthcare fails to deliver..

Systole 通过提供全面、可及且基于证据的规模化团体虚拟护理，解决了这两个问题。无论是女性面临心脏病风险并希望预防，还是已经历过心血管事件需要专家支持以康复和保持健康，我们都提供传统医疗未能提供的教育、治疗和社区支持。

What does your product do? How does it work?

你的产品有什么功能？它是如何工作的？

Systole runs

心缩期运行

physician-led group virtual visits

医生主导的团体虚拟访问

for women with heart disease and those at risk. Think of it as a modern, scalable approach to cardiovascular care — where patients get

对于患有心脏病和有风险的女性来说。可以将其视为一种现代化、可扩展的心血管护理方法——患者能够获得

more

更多

time with expert clinicians,

与专业临床医生的时间，

more

更多

education about their condition, and

关于其状况的教育，以及

more

更多

peer support, rather than just a rushed 15-minute appointment that barely scratches the surface.

同伴支持，而不是仅仅匆忙的15分钟约会，几乎只是触及表面。

Each

每个

60-min session

60分钟课程

includes 8-10 women, guided by a physician and health coach. Patients receive structured medical care, personalized treatment adjustments, education on lifestyle interventions, and a collaborative space to actually understand their heart health. Some are trying to prevent their first heart attack or heart failure episode, while others need ongoing guidance to avoid another one..

包括8到10名女性，由医生和健康教练指导。患者接受结构化的医疗护理、个性化的治疗调整、生活方式干预的教育，并有一个协作空间来真正了解她们的心脏健康。有些人试图预防她们的第一次心脏病发作或心力衰竭发作，而另一些人则需要持续的指导以避免再次发作。

And unlike many digital health startups that operate outside of the system, we integrate directly into existing healthcare structures — partnering with health systems to extend their reach, reduce specialist bottlenecks, and improve clinical outcomes. Whether a woman needs to prevent her first cardiovascular event or her second, we make sure she’s getting the right care, at the right time, with the support she needs to succeed..

与许多在体系外运作的数字健康初创公司不同，我们直接整合到现有的医疗保健结构中——与卫生系统合作，扩大其覆盖范围，减少专科医生的瓶颈，并改善临床结果。无论女性需要预防第一次还是第二次心血管事件，我们都会确保她在正确的时间获得正确的护理，并得到成功所需的支持。

Is this your first healthcare startup? What’s your background in healthcare?

这是你第一次创办医疗保健初创公司吗？你在医疗保健方面的背景是什么？

I’m a Harvard-trained cardiologist with an MD/MBA, and I founded Systole because I knew I could have a bigger impact outside of the traditional healthcare system. After years of seeing women struggle to access the right care — whether trying to prevent heart disease or recovering from their first heart attack — I realized that our current model simply doesn’t scale..

我是一名拥有医学博士和工商管理硕士学位的哈佛培训的心脏病学家，我创立了Systole，因为我深知在传统医疗体系之外我能产生更大的影响。多年来，我目睹女性在获取适当医疗服务时面临的种种困难——无论是试图预防心脏病还是从首次心脏病发作中恢复——我意识到我们当前的医疗模式根本无法扩展。

This is my first startup, but in many ways, I’ve been preparing for this my entire career.  My MD taught me how to treat heart disease. My MBA taught me how to fix the system that keeps failing women. Systole is my way of doing both — building a care model that is not only clinically rigorous but also scalable and financially viable, ensuring that more women get the expert-led cardiovascular care they deserve..

这是我第一次创业，但在许多方面，我整个职业生涯都在为这一刻做准备。我的医学博士教育教会了我如何治疗心脏病，而我的工商管理硕士教育则教会了我如何修复那个一直辜负女性的体系。Systole 是我实现这两者的途径——构建一个不仅在临床上严谨，而且可扩展且财务上可行的护理模式，确保更多女性能够获得她们应得的、由专家主导的心血管护理。

What is your company’s business model?

你的公司的商业模式是什么？

Systole partners with health systems and physician groups to expand access to cardiovascular care, reduce wait times, and improve outcomes for women’s heart health — all while generating new revenue for providers.

Systole 与卫生系统和医生团体合作，扩大心血管护理的可及性，缩短等待时间，并改善女性心脏健康的结果——同时为医疗服务提供者创造新的收入。

Our model is built on shared medical appointments (SMAs), a reimbursable, evidence-based approach that allows providers to see multiple patients in a structured group setting, improving engagement and outcomes while easing the burden on overextended clinics.

我们的模型基于共享医疗预约（SMAs），这是一种可报销、基于证据的方法，允许医疗服务提供者在结构化的团体环境中同时看诊多名患者，提高参与度和疗效，同时减轻过度紧张的诊所的负担。

For health systems, Systole offers:

对于健康系统，Systole 提供：

Scalable access expansion

可扩展的访问扩展

– We integrate directly into existing workflows, helping cardiology and primary care teams manage at-risk women who might otherwise face long wait times or fall through the cracks.

– 我们直接融入现有的工作流程，帮助心脏病学和初级护理团队管理有风险的女性，否则她们可能面临漫长的等待时间或被遗漏。

Financial upside

财务收益

– Our visits are billed under standard E&M billing codes, creating a new revenue stream while opening capacity to increase patient throughput.

– 我们的就诊服务按照标准的E&M计费代码进行收费，这不仅创造了一条新的收入来源，还释放了增加患者流量的空间。

Stronger patient retention and satisfaction

更强的患者保留率和满意度

– Women in our program feel more supported, more engaged, and more informed, improving outcomes and loyalty to the system.

我们项目中的女性感到更加被支持、更加投入、也更加了解情况，从而改善了结果并对系统更加忠诚。

While we do offer direct-to-consumer access, our primary focus is partnering with health systems to extend their reach, offload stable but high-risk patients, and create a more sustainable and accessible model for women’s heart care.

虽然我们确实提供直接面向消费者的渠道，但我们的主要重点是与卫生系统合作，扩大其覆盖范围，分流病情稳定但高风险的患者，并为女性心脏护理创造一个更可持续且更易获取的模式。

Who is your customer?

你的客户是谁？

Systole’s primary customers are

收缩期的主要客户是

health systems and physician groups

医疗系统和医生团体

looking to expand access, improve patient outcomes, and create a more sustainable model for cardiovascular care. Our virtual shared medical appointments allow them to offload stable but high-risk women into a structured, scalable program — helping overburdened cardiologists and primary care doctors manage demand while keeping patients engaged in their health..

寻求扩大准入、改善患者预后，并为心血管护理创造更可持续的模式。我们的虚拟共享医疗预约允许他们将病情稳定但高风险的女性转移到一个结构化、可扩展的项目中——帮助负担过重的心脏病专家和初级保健医生管理需求，同时让患者积极参与自身健康管理。

Beyond health systems, we see growing interest from

除了卫生系统，我们看到越来越多人感兴趣

payers and employers

付款人和雇主

who recognize the long-term cost savings of proactive cardiovascular care. With rising rates of cardiovascular disease and obesity-related conditions, early intervention and risk factor optimization are critical cost-control strategies. They can keep patients healthier, reducing avoidable hospitalizations, and preventing downstream complications..

认识到积极心血管护理的长期成本节约的人。随着心血管疾病和肥胖相关疾病发病率的上升，早期干预和风险因素优化是控制成本的关键策略。它们可以让患者更健康，减少可避免的住院，并防止后续并发症。

Our typical patient is a woman in midlife — often navigating hypertension, high cholesterol, metabolic dysfunction, or recovering from a recent cardiovascular event. Many of these women struggle to get timely care, either due to long specialist wait times or a lack of structured support in primary care..

我们典型的患者是中年女性——通常正在应对高血压、高胆固醇、代谢功能障碍，或是从最近的心血管事件中恢复。这些女性中有许多人难以获得及时的治疗，原因要么是专科医生的等待时间过长，要么是初级保健中缺乏结构化的支持。

By working with health systems, payers, and employers, we ensure these women don’t get lost in the system, while giving providers a tool to manage risk more effectively.

通过与卫生系统、支付方和雇主合作，我们确保这些女性不会在系统中迷失，同时为医疗服务提供者提供更有效地管理风险的工具。

How do you generate revenue?

你如何产生收入？

We generate revenue through three primary streams:

我们通过三个主要渠道产生收入：

Insurance reimbursement for group virtual visits, which are billable services covered by CMS and private insurers.

团体虚拟就诊的保险报销，这是由 CMS 和私人保险公司承保的可计费服务。

Health system and employer partnerships, where we offer a turn-key solution to help them expand their specialty care offerings.

医疗系统和雇主合作，我们提供交钥匙解决方案，帮助他们扩展专科护理服务。

Direct patient enrollment, allowing women to self-pay for immediate access to expert heart health care.

直接让患者入组，允许女性自费以立即获得心脏健康护理专家的服务。

This diversified revenue model enables us to scale sustainably while ensuring affordability and accessibility for patients.

这种多元化的收入模式使我们能够在确保患者负担得起和可及性的同时实现可持续扩展。

Do you have clinical validation for your product?

您的产品是否有临床验证？

Yes, we do! Systole’s model is rooted in strong evidence for shared medical appointments, which have been shown to:

是的，我们确实如此！Systole 的模型基于强有力的证据，支持共享医疗预约，这已被证明能够：

Improve patient engagement and adherence

提高患者参与度和依从性

Reduce specialist wait times

减少专家等待时间

Enhance clinical outcomes for chronic disease management

提高慢性病管理的临床效果

Beyond published data, we’ve already seen real-world impact: many of our early cohort patients have achieved blood pressure, cholesterol, and/or weight control, while also being screened for high-risk lipid disorders — all within an efficient 6-week timeframe.

除了已公布的数据，我们已经看到了实际影响：许多早期队列患者已经在短短6周内实现了血压、胆固醇和/或体重的控制，同时接受了高风险脂质紊乱的筛查。

We’re also tracking patient engagement and health outcomes closely to build a growing body of clinical evidence specific to Systole’s program. Our long-term vision is to set a new standard for scalable, high-quality virtual cardiovascular care for women.

我们还在密切跟踪患者的参与度和健康结果，以建立针对Systole项目不断增长的临床证据体系。我们的长期愿景是为女性设立可扩展、高质量的虚拟心血管护理新标准。

Photo:

照片：

BrianAJackson, Getty Images

布莱恩·A·杰克逊，盖蒂图片社

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医者公民

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