Women reminded of heart disease's heavy toll
CMAJ 1997;157:1193
© 1997 Canadian Medical Association
Last September, the Tai Kwon Do lessons, therapeutic massage, tips on surfing the Internet, blood pressure testing and instructions on giving up smoking made the Ottawa Congress Centre look a little like a freshers' fair during initiation week. But the crowd milling around the 52 booths were there for their health, not their social lives. At the first-ever "Hug Your Heart" day, close to 300 women were taught about cardiovascular disease and ways to prevent it. More sessions will follow in other parts of the country.
In Canada, 7 times more women die of heart disease than breast cancer, but most women aren't aware of this, the risk factors in their own lives, or heart attack symptoms. What's more, physicians are more likely to miss the warning signs among women than men. "We want to do for heart disease what the pink-ribbon campaign has done for breast cancer," said Barbara Ramsay, the pharmacist who got the Hug Your Heart idea rolling.
Dr. Wilbert Keon, director general of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, said that in the past 25 years the proportion of women patients at the institute has risen from 7% to 30%. He said research indicates that once coronary artery disease has been diagnosed in a woman, she is more likely to die of it than a man and less likely to survive surgery. Despite that grim news little research being done on female cardiovascular disease, even though most doctors now recognize that their symptoms can be dramatically different from men's.
Hug Your Heart organizers Jay Acton and Barbara Ramsay hope the Ottawa event will serve as a blueprint for similar events, sponsored by the Women's Television Network. During the low-fat luncheon, Ramsay underlined the importance of building momentum. "In 12 months we will have said goodbye to another 37 000 mothers, sisters, daughters, partners, wives and employees because of heart disease." More information is available from Acton, 613 761-8475. -- © Charlotte Gray
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