While there have been strides made in taking women’s heart and brain health seriously in recent years, there’s still a long way to go to address healthcare inequities.

 

The Heart and Stroke Foundation states over 32 thousand Canadian women died from heart disease and stroke in 2019.

 

That’s one woman’s life every 16 minutes.

 

Winnipeg cardiologist Doctor Mahwash Saeed explains there’s a continued lack of awareness and understanding around women’s heart and brain health.

 

She adds there are other factors that can lead to many women falling through the cracks.

 

“We as a medical community sometimes don’t recognize when women are presenting with symptoms of heart disease and stroke. There is a lot of socio-cultural factors as well. Women tend to be the caregivers in their homes, they put their own health last, they present to care less often and when they do present, they don’t tend to advocate for themselves. On top of that, women tend to suffer from lower socio-economic status more routinely which can affect their access to care. In particular, for Thompsonites, people living in rural, remote or Northern communities tend to have less access to care, especially things like screening and testing.”

 

Learn more about Heart Month this afternoon at 12:40 and 5:10 on Thompson Today.