Heart disease is the number one killer of women worldwide and the leading cause of premature death in Canada, yet women are often understudied, undertreated, and underdiagnosed. This September, the University of Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation, with the support of the University of Ottawa Heart...
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All of us have experienced anxiety, sadness, frustration or other negative emotions. While they can cause mental distress, they can also take a toll on your heart health, especially if these feelings are persistent or frequent. Understanding and dealing with our moods is important for both...
There is a long list of pumpkin spice inspired products available to consumers this time of year. There are pumpkin spiced beers, cereals and yes, even dog treats. The pumpkin spice mix is essentially a blend of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice, but it has been known to include other...
Is quitting smoking on your 2019 list of goals? There are a variety of factors that influence someone’s ability to quit smoking long-term. For women, the messaging and research around smoking cessation has focused largely on women and pregnancy, rather than supporting the overall health of women and...
Canadians eat more salt than is good for them, increasing their risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. The Heart and Stroke Foundation estimates that the average adult Canadian consumes about 3,400 mg of sodium per day (roughly one-and-a-half teaspoons), most of it from processed...
Each of us breathes in 10,000 or more litres of air every day, so it’s no surprise that the quality of that air can impact our health. Whether in large urban centres or more rural settings, air pollution can be a fact of life. As it turns out, these airborne pollutants—ground-level ozone, nitrogen...
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...
The University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI) is establishing a network to improve cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention and care in women. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and the UOHI Foundation are funding the project, valued at more than $1.2M plus in-kind contributions. CVD is the...
In this article – our final of 2023 – we revisit the captivating physicians, clinicians, scientists, nurses and allied health professionals, and the inspiring narratives that made headlines in The Beat this year. From the important first steps of groundbreaking initiatives in cardiovascular health...
Catch highlights from the congress floor and more!
Canadians took to their phones last month to share photos and videos of themselves completing physical activity challenges in support of women’s heart health. And in doing so, they raised more than just their heart rate. JUMP IN™ for Women’s Heart Health is a national fundraising and women’s heart...
Our mothers, daughters, sisters and friends may be at an enhanced risk of developing heart disease or suffering a serious heart attack in their lifetime, and what’s worse – they may not even know it. Heart disease is the number one killer of women worldwide and the leading cause of premature death...
It’s been shown to lower death rates from heart disease and even from other causes after the onset of cardiovascular disease, and it helps patients achieve a better quality of life. In fact, cardiac rehabilitation is a key “next step” in the recovery process following a heart attack or procedures...
February 22 is Heart Valve Disease Awareness Day, an international campaign dedicated to raising awareness about heart valve disease—its risk factors, symptoms, detection, and treatment
Several leading voices in cardiovascular medicine spoke out strongly at this year’s Congress about the looming crisis in health care and the need for the system to finally take prevention seriously. This message rang out from both sides of the border and took centre stage (that is “center” for our...
Regular physical activity is one of the most beneficial things a person can do to prevent heart disease or support their rehabilitation after a heart attack or cardiac surgery. A study recently published in the British Medical Journal found that exercise can be as good or better than drug therapy...
In a randomized clinical trial, a Heart Institute group led by Bob Reid, PhD evaluated a program designed to impact the heart health of family members of patients with heart disease. “Family members of patients are in a teachable moment that gives us the opportunity to prevent them from becoming the...
The arteries in our body are lined with a layer of cells called the endothelium. The very first step in the development of cardiovascular disease—the primary cause of heart attack and stroke—takes place when the endothelium begins to function abnormally. In research presented at the Canadian...
Cardiovascular prevention and rehabilitation underwent extensive change in the 20th century and continues to evolve rapidly. Andrew Pipe, MD, in his Terry Kavanagh Lecture at the 2014 Canadian Cardiovascular Congress, outlined a vision for "CVD Prevention and Rehabilitation in the 21st Century." To...
In 2016, the first Canadian Women’s Heart Health Summit marked the only national gathering focused on women’s heart health in over 15 years. Now, as planning for the 2018 Summit moves into full swing, the organizers have published a summary of the results from the 2016 event in the Canadian Journal...