Sponsored Content
#TimeToSeeRed

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/12/2019 (2154 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In April 2018, Heart & Stroke launched the #TimeToSeeRed initiative, an awareness campaign dedicated to women’s heart and brain health to support fundraising, and ultimately save lives.

Despite recent progress, women’s heart and brain health is still vastly misunderstood. Alarmingly, not only are women under-aware of risks of heart disease and stroke but are also under-diagnosed and under-treated. Currently two-thirds of heart disease and stroke clinical research is based on men, yet heart disease and stroke are the #1 cause of premature death for women.

Within six months of Heart & Stroke launching #TimeToSeeRed, Manitoba became the first province in Western Canada to secure a Founding Member of this initiative. A Founding Member is an individual who invests $100,000 or more in the Women’s Heart and Brain Health Initiative. In the fall of 2018, Elba Haid joined the cause, followed shortly after by Arlene Wilson.

“I believe in giving back to the community,” explained Haid, “but also due to my own personal experiences with respect to the devastating impacts of heart disease and stroke, I felt a very strong commitment to take a major role in this undertaking.”

“As of today, Manitoba is leading the initiative with the most Founding Members,” says Dale Oughton, Director of Development with Heart & Stroke, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta & NWT. “Across Canada we currently have fourteen Founding Members and two founding corporate partners supporting the initiative. It’s truly incredible.”

In addition to Elba Haid, Arlene Wilson, and two anonymous Founding Members, Manitoba boasts Gail Asper and Ken Houssin who joined in honour of his mother, Yvonne Houssin.

“I feel so fortunate to be able to bridge the connection between our donors and the programs Heart & Stroke offers such as the Women’s Heart & Brain Health Initiative. Women are dying unnecessarily because we don’t fully understand the difference between women’s and men’s hearts and brains. Only with more women-specific research can we change this,” says Oughton.

“I lost my mother to a stroke when I was only 14 years of age,” Haid shared. “Growing up without a mother has had a profound impact on my life. I believe in doing everything possible to save other young women from a similar experience. I have also lost a sister to heart disease and my remaining sister suffers from heart disease.”

Asper echoed, “Losing a mother leaves a tremendous hole. We need to remind women to be aware of the signs. We need to get the education out there for husbands and children too so that everyone knows the risks and the symptoms. My mom was seventy-eight going on fifty-eight when we lost her to an aortic rupture. Even though she had mentioned she wasn’t feeling well, was more tired, we didn’t know those were the signs.”

Women tend to ignore their symptoms more than men. Oftentimes they are busy in caregiver roles, ensuring their family members are looked after, many times at the expense of their own health.

“We’ve done very well, and people are listening. So far we’ve raised more than $1 million in Manitoba, but there is still so much to do,” says Oughton.

“Investing in this cause will save lives – maybe even the life of someone you love,” Oughton continues. “It’s incredible how this cause really hits home. I don’t think there are very many people that can say their lives have not been affected by heart disease, stroke and related conditions.”

“Because of the generous nature of Manitobans, people are choosing to create and host fundraisers in support of this initiative. One such example is that of our Provincial Advisory Board member, Olive McDonald, who hosts an annual fundraiser that to date has raised close to $100,000.”

Arlene Wilson was at a similar fundraising event when she first heard the stories of young survivors, one of which was Robyn Stewart. “It was really overwhelming. My grandmother died of heart disease when I was 12. I still miss her today.”

“Everybody has to understand that it’s okay for women to put their health first and not feel guilty about doing so,” says Asper.

“Women have been dramatically under-diagnosed, under-studied, funded and researched,” says Wilson. “The research is critical — to understand the differences so that we can properly diagnose and treat women.”

Since the launch of this campaign, Heart & Stroke has funded 15 researchers to specifically study women’s hearts and brains, and is now mandating that all Heart & Stroke funded research consider sex and gender-based analysis and reporting, to help close the deadly research gap women are facing.

“I am encouraging everyone to donate as much as they can toward this worthwhile project. Every dollar counts. We want to save more lives,” says Haid.

“We know we need to exercise and eat well,” Wilson adds, “We also need to try not to stress about the small things. Life is so short.”

“For women everywhere, please take stock of how you’re feeling right now, breathe and consider making a donation to this worthy cause,” says Oughton.

Donate to help close the research gap.
heartandstroke.ca

™ Life. We don’t want you to miss it. and the heart and / Icon on its own or followed by another icon or words are trademarks of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.