Dr. Rachel M. Bond, MD, FACC

09/07/2026

Who wants to join me at the Association of Black Cardiologists 16th Spirit of the Heart Awards? ♥️🫀✨

And if you can’t be there in person… who wants to help us continue the work?

The ABC has spent more than 50 years working to improve cardiovascular health through education, advocacy, research, community partnerships, and the development of the next generation of leaders.

This year’s Spirit of the Heart Awards will bring us together at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City under the theme “Honoring Our Legacy, Shaping the Future of Health.”

This mission is especially personal to me. Through ABC, I have the privilege of helping lead our growing work in women’s cardiovascular health and maternal heart health—including efforts to close maternal-cardiovascular care gaps, expand education for clinicians and communities, identify cardiovascular risk earlier across a woman’s life course, and help ensure that where a woman lives does not determine whether she survives pregnancy or cardiovascular disease.

So I have two asks: Come celebrate with us—or invest in the work. ♥️

Your support helps ABC continue advancing cardiovascular education, research, advocacy, scholarships, community engagement, and initiatives like the maternal heart work that I am so proud to help lead.

🎟️ Join us at Spirit of the Heart or make a donation:
🔗 https://secure.qgiv.com/for/associationofblackcardiologists/event/abc16thspiritoftheheartawards/

Every seat filled, every donation made, and every person who shares our mission helps us move closer to a future where everyone has the opportunity to live a longer, healthier life.

Who’s coming with me? 🙋🏽‍♀️♥️🫀

This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn

09/05/2026

Not the HORIZON result we hoped for—but certainly not the end of the Lp(a) story. 💜🫀

The Phase III Lp(a)HORIZON trial enrolled 8,323 patients with elevated Lp(a) and established cardiovascular disease. Pelacarsen substantially lowered Lp(a), but did not significantly reduce the primary cardiovascular endpoint.

Disappointing? Yes. But this does not mean Lp(a) doesn’t matter. Decades of evidence support Lp(a) as an independent, causal cardiovascular risk factor.

Instead, HORIZON raises important questions: Was the endpoint right? Was follow-up long enough for a lifelong risk factor whose effects accumulate over decades? Should we be intervening earlier—before cardiovascular disease is established?

We need the full data before drawing conclusions. A neutral trial can teach us as much about timing, population and trial design as it does about a therapy.

I’m especially proud to have served as a Principal Investigator for a dedicated study of Black and Hispanic patients within the pelacarsen program—populations historically underrepresented in cardiovascular research. Thank you to Novartis ⁠ for prioritizing inclusive research, and to my Dignity Health research team, our patients, and all who made this work possible. ❤️

A neutral trial is not failed science—it helps us ask the next question better.

The Lp(a) story is far from over. 💜

08/20/2026

I read this with equal parts concern and frustration.

As a cardiologist specializing in women’s heart health and cardio-obstetrics, I fundamentally disagree with the idea that pregnancy—or any other stage of a woman’s life—somehow places her outside the responsibility or comfort zone of clinicians caring for her.

Women do not stop being cardiology patients when they become pregnant.

They do not stop having hypertension, arrhythmias, congenital heart disease, cardiomyopathy, coronary disease, dysautonomia, or cardiovascular risk factors because they are pregnant. And pregnancy itself can uncover cardiovascular disease that may have otherwise remained silent for years.

The same principle applies across the entire life course: adolescence, preconception, pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause, menopause, and beyond.

We absolutely need specialists. We need cardio-obstetrics teams and multidisciplinary collaboration for complex patients. But specialization cannot become an excuse for the broader healthcare workforce to disengage from women during particular stages of their lives.

That is why the suggestion that clinicians simply should not have to care for pregnant patients is so troubling to me. The answer to discomfort is not avoidance. The answer is education, appropriate risk stratification, collaboration, and knowing when to refer.

Every clinician does not need to become a cardio-obstetrician.

But clinicians who care for women should have a foundational level of competence and comfort caring for women throughout their lives—including during pregnancy and postpartum.

Pregnancy is not a niche condition. Menopause is not a niche condition. Women’s health is not a niche area of medicine.

If our healthcare system requires women to continually find a different clinician every time they enter another stage of life, then the system—not the patient—is the problem.

We have to do better.

🔗 https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/second-opinions/122660

Neither pregnancy nor abortion are siloed

07/25/2026

Honored to have been invited by OWN Your Health and OWN Media to join an incredible panel with the Off the Field NFL Wives NYC Chapter discussing Superwoman Syndrome and what it truly means to prioritize our health, protect our peace, and redefine success.

As a preventive cardiologist, my message was simple: the healthiest gift you can give everyone who depends on you…is you.

Heart disease remains the #1 killer of women, yet so many of us delay our own care while taking care of everyone else. Prevention isn’t selfish—it’s one of the greatest acts of love we can show ourselves and the generations that follow.

Grateful to share the stage with such inspiring women , including the amazing Tina Perry who phenomenally moderated the panel, and to be part of a movement empowering women to OWN their health.

See the OATH at the end and try to live by the words; I know I will. Special shout out to & for organizing it 💜

💗 Protect your peace.
💗 Listen to your body.
💗 Put yourself on your own calendar.

07/03/2026

lHappy National CROWN Day. 👑

Today commemorates the signing of the first CROWN Act on July 3, 2019—landmark legislation that recognized something that should have always been true: no one should face discrimination because of the texture of their hair or the way they choose to wear it naturally. The CROWN Act stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair.

As a Black female cardiologist, wearing my natural hair is more than a hairstyle—it’s a reminder that excellence doesn’t require assimilation. My curls do not make me any less professional, knowledgeable, or capable. Instead, they reflect who I am and the community I proudly serve.

I hope that every patient who sees me feels represented, and every young Black girl who dreams of becoming a physician knows she never has to change who she is to earn a seat at the table.

Today, as I snap this picture while also observing America’s Independence, I celebrate my crown—and the generations before me who made it possible to wear it proudly♥️

Happy National CROWN Day. 🫶🏽

06/11/2026

1999.

Sitting with my parents and my brother in our house in the Bronx, watching the New York Knicks chase a championship and dreaming about what my own future might look like.

Back then, Madison Square Garden felt larger than life. The lights. The noise. The belief that anything was possible.

Today, the Knicks are back on basketball’s biggest stage, and after witnessing a historic 29-point comeback, I’m reminded of a lesson that has followed me far beyond the game itself:

Never give up.

Not when you’re behind.
Not when things look impossible.
Not when everyone thinks it’s over.

The current team has a simple mentality: 0-0. Stay desperate at all times.

That mindset carried me from the Bronx to becoming the first physician in my family.

Every milestone could have been a stopping point. Getting into an accelerated college program. Medical school. Residency. Fellowship. Building a career.

But growth happens when you keep showing up, even when the odds are against you.

Stay humble.
Stay hungry.
Stay grateful.
Stay desperate.

So as I watch the Knicks fight for something generations of true fans, like myself, have waited decades to see, I think about that young girl sitting on the living room floor believing in something bigger than herself.

The dream changed. The mentality never did.

From the Bronx to cardiology.
From Madison Square Garden memories to caring for hearts every day.

One more win.

Bring it home, New York. It’s been more than 50 years since the city celebrated a Knicks championship.

What a time to be alive. 🧡💙🙏🏽

05/09/2026

Grateful to the Arizona Chapter of the Women in Cardiology community for creating space for a truly honest and meaningful conversation during our panel, “No Filter. Just Facts. Women in Cardiology After Hours.”

I was honored to moderate a discussion that moved beyond titles and CVs and into the real experiences many women in medicine continue to navigate daily. What made the evening so impactful was the willingness of the panelists and audience to be vulnerable, candid, and solution-oriented.

Two questions especially sparked powerful discussion:

• “Women are still expected to do more—with less recognition.”
→ Where do you see this most?

• “You cannot be an excellent physician and always be available.”
→ How do you balance access, boundaries, and excellence in patient care?

The responses were raw, honest, and deeply relatable. Conversations touched on the invisible labor many women physicians carry — from inbox management and emotional labor to committee work and mentorship — responsibilities that are often expected but not always recognized or compensated equitably.

We discussed the reality that women advocating firmly for patients or systems change may still be labeled “aggressive,” while the same traits in others are viewed as leadership. Yet despite these challenges, the overwhelming message in the room was one of resilience, community, mentorship, and progress.

Most importantly, the discussion reminded us that transparency matters. Creating environments where women can speak openly about career growth, compensation, burnout, leadership, motherhood, boundaries, and belonging is essential if we truly want to retain and advance women in cardiology and medicine.

Thank you again to everyone who participated, shared their stories, and helped create such an empowering evening. The honesty in that room was powerful — and necessary.

05/01/2026

Honored to be part of the American Heart Association - Arizona Luncheon today ❤️

Sharing the stage with an incredible panel of all female cardiologists was powerful—and necessary ♥️

We talked about something simple, but critical:
👉🏽 Your heart health is not optional—it’s foundational.

Know your numbers.
Know your story.
Stop waiting for symptoms.

Grateful to stand alongside and work with brilliant women using our voices to change the narrative for women’s heart health.

04/25/2026

Continuing the message I shared earlier this week: pregnancy is not just a moment—it is a turning point for lifelong cardiovascular health.

Honored to be featured by the Black Women's Health Imperative discussing why pregnancy complications must lead to long-term follow-up and prevention, especially for Black women who continue to face disproportionate risks.

The postpartum period is a beginning, not an ending.

🔗https://bwhi.org/2026/04/24/pregnancy-is-a-turning-point-the-system-just-hasnt-treated-it-that-way/?utm_medium=email&_hsmi=415624638&utm_content=415624638&utm_source=hs_email

Since 1983, our national organization dedicated to health of our nation’s 21 million Black women and girls – physically, emotionally and financially.

04/22/2026

This one is for the women, the families, the support systems ♥️

Pregnancy is more than a moment—it’s a powerful window into your heart health.

In this video, we’re breaking down what every woman and family should know about heart health during pregnancy and after delivery, inspired by the National Academies report:

Protecting Maternal Heart Health

Here’s the truth:
Too many women are told “you’re fine” when something doesn’t feel right.
Too many symptoms are dismissed.
Too many lives could be saved with earlier recognition and advocacy.

Your body is talking—listen to it.
Your voice matters—use it.
And your loved ones play a critical role—advocate, ask questions, speak up.

Because heart health doesn’t end at delivery.
The postpartum period is just as important—and often where we miss the biggest opportunities to protect women.

This is about awareness.
This is about empowerment.
This is about saving lives.

🎥 Watch, share, and tag someone who needs to hear this.

🔗 Learn more:
https://nap.nationalacademies.org/resource/29425/Maternal_Heart_Health_Policy_Brief.pdf

GoRedForWomen BlackMaternalHealth Cardiology