Canadian Women
Women's health
Women are more likely to have
Reduce the risk: (category not yet completed)
Increased risk of HD in women: (category not yet completed)
100

This Canadian won multiple medals at the summer and winter Olympic games.

Clara Hughes is the only Olympian to have won multiple medals at both the summer and winter games.
-Road Cycling, Time Trials, 1996
-Speed Skating, 2002, 2006, 2010

She supports initiatives that encourage education, healthy lifestyle, leadership, mental health and sports.
In 2010, she became an Officer of the Order of Canada.

100

This is the number one killer of women worldwide and the leading cause of premature death in women in Canada.

Heart disease used to be considered a "man's disease," but no longer. While heart disease is on the decline among men, it is rising among women.

100

This is a tear in the large blood vessels of the heart, which is more prevalent in women than men.

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection, SCAD, is a tear in an artery wall in your heart that allows blood to build up in the space between the layers of your artery wall. This leads to a reduction or blockage of blood flow to your heart.

100

Be active, keep moving. Reduce stress

Be active, keep moving  . reduce stress.

100

Menopause earlier than this age leads to a higher risk of heart disease.

50 years old.  As estrogen levels decrease during menopause the risk for heart disease increases.

200

This is the first Canadian woman to win the Nobel Prize for literature.

Alice Munro won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013, becoming the 13th woman to receive the honour.

200

Much of what we know about the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease is based on research in this population. 

Men have been primarily the subjects in research studies but women’s hearts and the way they experience heart disease are different in many ways. These differences are important because they can affect how heart disease presents in women, and how it's diagnosed and treated. 

200

The name for tightening of the large blood vessels of the heart, limiting blood flow, is more common in women than in men.

Coronary Vasospasm is the sudden narrowing of an artery. It happens when the muscles within the vessel's wall quickly contract and stay that way. 

200

Eat a variety of healthy foods

Eat a variety of healthy foods

200

Systemic inflammatory and autoimmune disorders (ex. Rheumatoid arthritis, lupus)

Systemic inflammatory and autoimmune disorders (ex. Rheumatoid arthritis, lupus)

300

When she was named Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer in 2017, she became the first woman to hold the job.

Dr. Theresa Tam has championed the reduction of health disparities so that everyone in Canada has a chance to lead healthy lives, physically and mentally.

Dr. Tam is a pediatric infectious disease specialist with expertise in immunization, emergency preparedness and global health security.

300

While men and women share  most of the same traditional risk factors, some risk factors carry a stronger relative risk in women.  This is a woman specific risk factor.

- Pregnancy complications (ex. premature birth, diabetes or hypertension during pregnancy, preeclampsia)
- Earlier than average menopause
- Polycystic ovary syndrome (cysts in ovaries and hormonal imbalance)

300

This is the name of small vessel disease which is more common in women than in men.

Coronary microvascular disease (sometimes called small artery disease or small vessel disease) is heart disease that affects the walls and inner lining of tiny coronary artery blood vessels that branch off from the larger coronary arteries.

300

Live free from commercial tobacco and vaping

Live free from commercial tobacco and vaping

300

Cigarette smoking (Women have 3x higher risk of heart attack due to cigarette smoking compared to men)

Cigarette smoking (Women have 3x higher risk of heart attack due to cigarette smoking compared to men)

400

Susan Olivia Davis Poole was one of the first indigenous women in Canada to patent and profit from her invention which was inspired by the traditional practice of using a bouncing cradleboard to soothe babies.  This is the name of the invention.

The Jolly Jumper, formally the baby jumper, was patented by Ms. Poole in 1957.  In the 1950s her invention was mass produced by the family business, Poole Manufacturing Co.

400

This percentage of women do not have their heart attack symptoms recognized.  

Heart attack symptoms are not recognized in over 50% of women.
Heart attack symptoms most often felt by women:

  • Chest pain, pressure, tightness, or burning
  • Pain in the jaw, neck, right arm, or back
  • Extreme sweating
  • Shortness of breath
  • Stomach pain, nausea or indigestion

  • Profound fatigue
  • Sleep problems
  • Dizziness or light-headedness
  • Fast or irregular heartbeat
400

This is a type of cardiomyopathy, that is more likely to occur in women than in men, where there is a weakened heart due to a stressful event 

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is a weakening of the left ventricle, the heart's main pumping chamber.  The condition is usually the result of severe emotional or physical stress.

400

Limit alcohol

Limit alcohol

400

Diabetes mellitus (Women living with diabetes are 3x more likely to die from heart disease compared to men)

Diabetes mellitus (Women living with diabetes are 3x more likely to die from heart disease compared to men)

500

This lady was the first Black Woman elected to Canada’s Parliament.

Jean Augustine’s roles included Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, Minister for Multiculturalism and the Status of Women, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and Deputy Speaker.

She is a member of the Order of Canada, Commander of the Order of the British Empire and supports scholarships at Colleges in Ontario.

500

This hormone is believed to be cardioprotective against heart disease in women.

Estrogen protects most younger women from heart complications but once estrogen levels drop during menopause, the risk of heart disease rises.

500

This is a type of cardiomyopathy characterized by a weakened heart during or after pregnancy. 

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM), also known as postpartum cardiomyopathy, is an uncommon form of heart failure that happens towards the end of pregnancy or in the months following delivery, when no other cause of heart failure can be found.

500

Get regular check ups (test for blood sugars, blood pressure and cholesterol)

Get regular check ups (test for blood sugars, blood pressure and cholesterol)

500

Polycystic ovary syndrome

Polycystic ovary syndrome

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