Systole Health

Systole Health is a virtual clinic platform focused on addressing the underserved market of women's cardiovascular health. The company was founded in 2023 by Dr. Simin Gharib Lee, a Harvard-trained cardiologist, and Lauren McConnell, a healthcare operations specialist with experience at firms like One Medical and Mount Sinai Health System. Dr. Lee's motivation stemmed from observing a surge of women in her clinic with worsening risk factors like high blood pressure, cholesterol, and weight gain, who faced long wait times for specialist care. Recognizing the system's inability to provide timely and comprehensive care, she partnered with McConnell to create a more scalable and accessible solution.

The company's core offering is a tech-enabled, group virtual care model structured around shared medical appointments (SMAs). This approach, which has been clinically validated, allows a physician and a health coach to guide a small cohort of 8-10 women through hour-long virtual sessions. These sessions provide a platform for personalized medical care, lifestyle coaching, and peer support, a significant departure from the standard, brief one-on-one doctor's visit. The initial program runs for six weeks, covering topics such as the causes of heart disease, weight management, and blood pressure control, with a maintenance program available for continued support. The service also incorporates personalized weight management, including prescriptions for GLP-1 medications where appropriate.

Systole Health operates on a diversified business model. It offers its services directly to consumers on a self-pay basis and also partners with health systems and physician groups to help them manage patient waitlists and expand their specialty care capacity. These partnerships create a new revenue stream for providers, as the group virtual visits are reimbursable services covered by CMS and private insurers. The Boston-based company launched with $2 million in pre-seed funding in January 2025, with plans to expand its clinical team and enter new markets across the United States. The service was initially piloted in Massachusetts and Florida.

Keywords: women's heart health, virtual cardiac care, shared medical appointments, group virtual visits, cardiometabolic health, preventative cardiology, digital health for women, telehealth, cardiovascular disease prevention, physician-led health coaching, Simin Gharib Lee, Lauren McConnell, Benchstrength, chronic disease management, patient engagement, virtual clinic, healthcare access, proactive healthcare, lifestyle medicine, femtech, value-based care, health system partnerships, clinical support tools, GLP-1, weight management