Women in interventional cardiology: The French experience

Exploring the discrepancy in sex-ratio among interventional cardiologists by analysing the population of the female interventionalist.

Despite an increase number of women who graduate from medical school in France during the last generation today, women represent only 24% of all cardiologists and 3% are interventional cardiologists. To face this international gender-based issue of interventional cardiology, committees were established in US (WIN) and recently within the EAPCI: the Women EAPCI chaired by Drs Mehilli and Mauri. In France, the Intervention'Elles committee emerged in order to participate in this concern.

As a first initiative, the Intervention'Elles group launched an e-survey to obtain information on the population of French female interventional cardiologists, focused on demography, work patterns, maternity and radiation exposure.

Mean age is 40 years old (±7,4), 68% are working in large volume center, 28% have also structural interventional activity. Only 40% have left arm coverage. Despite 80% of French female interventional cardiologists wear personal dosimeters only 45% of them have a dosimetry feedback. Interestingly, even if 54% of women have children (mean: 1.9±1) 28% of them report that childbearing had interfered with their career plan.

This questionnaire identifies for the first time the women population in interventional cardiology in France and highlights some of the issues encountered in more detail. This first descriptive step would help to develop strategies for attaining gender equality in interventional cardiology.