Know Your Risk. Share Your Story. Advance the Science. – Brandon Sun

Dennis Maut woke up one night in 2014 with the classic symptoms of a heart attack.

“I woke up at my usual time, shortly after six,” he says. “I was lying there, thinking to myself, and I felt a sharp pain just below my armpit. It was like someone had poked me with a needle.”

He decided to get out of bed, but felt “woozy.” He felt pain in his left arm and lay down on the bed, but then he broke out in a cold sweat.

“At that moment,” he says, “I suspected what was going on. I thought, “Oh my God, we have a problem here.” And then I extended my hand and said to Nancy, “We have to go to the hospital now.” Nancy McPherson, who lives on a farm near Brandon with her husband Dennis, took him to the Brandon Regional Health Center. After undergoing several tests, he was in an ambulance headed to St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg.

“I went into the operating room and they did an angiogram and found out I had a blockage,” Dennis says. “They put a stent in right away and within a few hours I was flown back to Brandon.”

He spent another day in the Brandon hospital and then went home to rest and recuperate. Nancy remembers that terrible day in a positive light: the system worked and her husband was alive and at home.

“All I could think was, 'Wow, these research dollars are in action,'” she says. “It was almost a miracle that we were able to go from such a terrible operation to something so enjoyable that you could go back to your hometown that same night.”

Nancy, a former cardiac nurse, says she is “amazed” by the advances in cardiac care. When she first started working as a cardiac nurse, open heart surgery was the only treatment option, she said.

“And there were quite a few patients who were simply not stable or suitable for this surgery. It's a tough surgery and a tough recovery.”

Both Nancy and Dennis thank Heart & Stroke for helping Dennis survive his heart attack. Through its outreach activities, the organization educates Canadians and raises awareness about the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and recovery of cardiovascular disease and stroke.

An important tool Heart & Stroke uses to reduce deaths from heart disease and stroke is encouraging heart disease and/or stroke survivors to share their experiences with fellow Canadians like Dennis and Nancy.

Storytelling is an effective way to shape care while raising awareness.

Dennis and Nancy are just two of many Manitobans sharing their experiences, and you can too. Heart & Stroke is looking for people in Westman with lived experience of heart disease or stroke.

If you would like to share your story and help shape the future of care, please email [email protected].

Heart and stroke support leads to breakthrough

Since 1952, Heart & Stroke has invested nearly $1.7 billion in cardiovascular disease and stroke research. This support has contributed to the discovery of life-saving surgical techniques, drugs and treatment plans that have improved the lives of generations of Canadians.

One example of critical research currently being funded by Heart & Stroke here in Manitoba is the work of Dr. Amir Rawandi. He is an interventional cardiologist, director of research in the Department of Cardiology at St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg, and a professor at the Max Rady College of Medicine at the University of Manitoba.

Dr. Ravandi's research is currently focused on “a group of molecules that—during a heart attack, when we open up an artery—are a problem,” he said.

“These molecules are quite active in breaking down heart muscle and form very quickly after the arteries open,” he says. “We try to minimize the damage by isolating them and killing them with antibodies.”

In addition to this important work, Dr. Ravandi and his team are also conducting pioneering research aimed at identifying chemical biomarkers that occur when stroke is imminent. He explains that “we're looking to use our lipidomics platform to see if there are any differences between patients with and without stroke, and we've found a couple of interesting molecules that can differentiate whether you have a stroke or not.”

According to Christina Oud, director of Manitoba Health Policy and Systems for Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke, there are many exciting advances in the treatment of cardiovascular disease and stroke. Oud points to incredible advances in research-based stroke treatment known as endovascular thrombectomy, which has increased survival rates for severe ischemic strokes by 50 per cent, “and the procedure is happening right here in Manitoba.”

“Groundbreaking treatments such as blood clot-busting drugs have changed the way heart attacks and strokes are treated in Manitoba – all as a result of investment in research,” says Oud.

Dr. Ravandi says Heart & Stroke's research investments are delivering results.

“If you had a heart attack in Manitoba 15 years ago,” he says, “your risk of dying within 30 days was probably 14 per cent. But now it's down to three to four per cent. A lot of that has to do with the work that Heart & Stroke does because they're interested in information, advocacy and research, and those three areas lead to better health care.”

“I hope people reading this understand how important it is to donate to the Heart & Stroke Foundation to be able to fund all the great things we do. Research matters.”

For more information about Heart & Stroke's cardiovascular disease and stroke prevention research, visit heartandstroke.ca.

Introducing the Risk Screen

We are pleased to announce the launch of Risk Screen, our new online tool designed to help women in Canada identify, reduce and manage their personal risk factors for heart disease and stroke. All it takes is a few minutes – it could potentially save your life.

Only half of Canadians know their risk factors for heart disease and stroke, and women are less aware than men, according to our new survey.

Risk Screen is here to help change that. Built using the latest data and input from leading health experts, the tool creates a personalized report that takes into account lifestyle, medical history, sex, gender, and life stages unique to women, such as pregnancy, perimenopause, and menopause.

This is a powerful step forward in helping you take control of your heart and brain health.

Scan to begin your journey through the Risk screen. heartandstroke.ca/riskscreen