February is the shortest and coldest month of the year, but also the most important one for our heart health. That’s because February is Heart Month, a time to reflect on the importance of our cardiovascular health and to learn about how we can manage our risk factors for heart disease.
The University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI), Canada’s largest and foremost heart health centre dedicated to understanding, treating, and preventing heart disease, and the UOHI Foundation want you to make the most of Heart Month this year.
Here is how you can go “all in” this February.
Follow these accounts on social media
Use the hashtag #AllinForHeartMonth on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and make sure you are following these accounts:
- Facebook: /HeartInstitute and /HeartInstituteFoundation
- Twitter: @HeartInstitute and @HeartFDN
- Instagram: @HeartInstitute and @HeartInstituteFoundation
Be proactive about your heart health
The UOHI’s Prevention and Rehabilitation Centre has dozens of resources to help Canadians learn more about their heart health and understand their risks for heart disease. To assess your risk, you can start by taking this free risk assessment survey. It only takes a few minutes to complete and, after you’re done, you will receive a tailored summary report with recommendations to improve your health.
To learn more about heart health, you can also watch an upcoming or past HeartWise webinar presentation, participate in a virtual heart health workshop, or stream any of the educational videos available in the Prevention and Wellness Centre’s video library.
Learn about women’s heart health
The Canadian Women’s Heart Health Summit is the only event of its kind. It runs virtually from February 10 to 13 and will draw the world’s leading experts, allied professionals, and women living with heart disease to share up-to-date information about women’s heart health.
Co-hosted by the UOHI’s Canadian Women’s Heart Health Centre and Heart & Stroke, this year’s theme is Women’s Cardiovascular Health Puzzle: Connecting the Pieces to Understand the Whole.
Don’t miss your chance to change the face of women’s heart health.
Wear red for women’s heart health awareness!
Wear red on February 13 in recognition of the third annual Wear Red Canada campaign.
Canadians are invited to share photos to social media of themselves dressed in red along with important women’s heart health messages and using the hashtag #HerHeartMatters.
The Canadian Women’s Heart Health Alliance is hosting a full day of virtual programming.
Paint your town red!
Restaurants, office towers, and businesses in Ottawa’s Byward Market and beyond are lighting up their façades in red for Heart Month. An initiative of the UOHI Foundation, organizers are calling for donations to help ensure the Heart Institute can continue to provide optimal care for patients and their families while shaping the way cardiovascular medicine is practiced now, and in the years ahead.
The UOHI Foundation’s corporate match champions will match donations received in February.
To donate, participate, or to learn more, visit februaryisheartmonth.ca.
Hunt for hearts!
The UOHI Foundation is hosting its first-ever scavenger hunt, powered by Ottawa’s Escape Manor.
Hunt for Hearts requires registrants to decipher clever clues to complete hilarious challenges for a chance to win over $20,000 in prizing. Keep score and share your progress on social media to earn points. Participation requires an internet connection and a Facebook or Instagram account. Registration is only $25.
To register or to learn more visit huntforhearts.com.