Too many Canadian women are dying unnecessarily.
Over 25,000 women die each year in Canada from heart disease. The Heart and Stroke Foundation says many women are not getting properly diagnosed and treated for the disease. Officials say this is often because the symptoms in women sometimes are not as painful or specific compared to men.
Vice President of Health and Research for the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Kate Chidester, says that along with stress, a poor diet can add to the many risk factors for women.
“9 out of 10 of us have risk factors for heart disease or stroke and we do know that one of those risk factors is having an unhealthy diet. Interestingly, when we polled Canadian women, what we found was that younger women, ages 19-29, have a lot less awareness of heart disease being a risk factor for them. That then extends to all of the risk factors.”
Chidester would add that 40% of the polled women admitted to eating unhealthy foods at least five times per week – a number that needs to be lowered to help limit risk of heart disease.
Visit heartandstroke.ca and take the time to learn more about women’s heart health.
