Every man’s life is touched by so many important women: mothers, sisters, wives, partners, daughters, and friends.
Too many of these women—women of all ages, backgrounds and ethnicities—will develop cardiovascular disease.
The truth is that heart disease and stroke is a leading cause of death for women in Canada, killing seven times more women than breast cancer. But because women often don’t recognize their risks, they do not make the lifestyle changes that could save their lives.
That’s why in 2008, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada launched The Heart Truth campaign. The Heart Truth campaign is raising awareness of women’s risk for heart disease and stroke and spreading a lifesaving message to empower Canadian women to protect their heart health.
The good news is that there are things you can do to help protect the women you love. The Heart Truth campaign needs your support to help us reach these women with a life-saving message about their heart health.
What can you do to help?
You can encourage them to learn about their risk.
The Heart Truth quiz is a great first step!
You can support women in making healthy lifestyle changes.
By quitting smoking, exercising and eating right, and managing their blood pressure and cholesterol levels, women can significantly reduce their risks. In fact, women who make lifestyle changes to improve their health can reduce their risk of heart disease and stroke by as much as 80 per cent!
Learn about prevention here.
Here are some tools you can let the women in your life know about to help reach their goals:
Click here for a tool to help manage Blood Pressure
Click here to develop a Health Weight Action Plan
Sign up for Heartbeats to get a year-long dose of daily lifestyle tips
You can encourage them talk to their doctors. Women tend to ignore their risk of heart disease and stroke, and do not seek medical attention as quickly as they should. Don’t let the women in your life put their own health last: encourage them to talk to their doctor and have their blood pressure and cholesterol levels tested. Before they go to the doctor, let the women in your life know about our “What to ask your doctor” handout.
You can encourage them to learn the warning signs and know them yourself. Being able to recognize the warning signs of heart attack and stroke can save a woman’s life. Every minute counts during the onset of a heart attack or stroke, and getting prompt medical treatment increases the likelihood that they will survive and make a more complete recovery.
Read more about warning signs here.
Please help us spread The Heart Truth message to women across Canada. It can be as simple as wearing a Red Dress pin or joining our facebook page: www.facebook.com/TheHeartTruth
Your support can make a difference in their lives.
Thank you!