For 46-year-old Adria Scarano, the warning signs feel personal. As she moves through perimenopause, she knows her risk for heart disease and stroke is climbing. That knowledge has become a daily motivator: “As you get older you have to work even harder to stay healthy,” she says. “Now that I’m in perimenopause, I know I need to be active more often. I’m also trying to increase vegetables in my diet and drink more water.”
Adria’s story reflects a reality many Canadians face: concern about heart and brain health, paired with a strong desire to do better. A new national poll from Heart & Stroke shows that nearly seven in 10 Canadians are worried about their risks for heart disease and stroke and women are even more concerned than men.
A Silent Threat
Despite that concern, awareness is strikingly low. The poll found that only half of Canadians know their own risk factors, and more than half don’t know their cholesterol or blood sugar levels. Heart & Stroke notes that nine in 10 Canadians have at least one risk factor, whether it’s high blood pressure, diabetes, or lifestyle habits like inactivity or poor diet.
For women, the stakes are especially high. Heart disease and stroke are the leading cause of premature death among women in Canada. Yet only four in 10 women are certain that their risk changes at different life stages, from pregnancy to menopause.
“Women’s risks are different, and they evolve over time,” says Dr. Christine Faubert, Vice President of Health Equity and Mission Impact at Heart & Stroke. “Too often, women aren’t aware of those changes until it’s too late.”
Heart and Stroke Risk Screening Tool
The good news: most Canadians don’t just want to worry, they want to act. Nearly nine in 10 say they’re motivated to make lifestyle changes such as improving their diet, getting more exercise, managing stress, or cutting back on alcohol.
That’s where Heart & Stroke’s new Risk Screen tool comes in. Free and easy to use, the online questionnaire creates a personal health profile, highlighting risks that can be managed and offering a tailored action plan. It also provides ongoing follow-up resources to help people stay on track.
Dr. Kara Nerenberg, a women’s heart and brain health researcher at the University of Calgary, says the tool is groundbreaking. “Although other good tools exist, I don’t know of one quite like this. It’s specifically focused on heart and brain health and considers the full picture – medical, lifestyle, and personal factors”, she explained.
A Shared Motivation
For Adria, awareness of her increased risk hasn’t sparked fear, it’s sparked commitment. Her story is echoed in the poll results: more than three in 10 Canadians describe themselves as very motivated to make changes.
“As much as 80% of premature heart disease and stroke can be prevented,” Dr. Faubert said. “Canadians want to protect their health. Our job is to give them the tools and information they need to succeed.”
The message is clear: while the risks are real, so is Canadians’ determination to take charge of their health. And with new resources like the Risk Screen, more people may find the guidance they need to turn concern into lasting change.
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