Northern Ont. health series launches at Science North with women’s heart event

Wear Red Canada is asking people to wear red as health partners around the city are collaborating to help inform Sudburians on innovation in health care.

Health partners across Greater Sudbury joined forces to deliver critical information on women’s heart health to the community, aiming to bridge the knowledge gap that often leaves women under-treated and under-aware of their specific cardiovascular risks.

The initiative is part of a broader effort to make scientific knowledge accessible to the public, as part of a new signature series hosted at Science North’s Vale Cavern.

Speaking with CTV News ahead of the event, Sarah Chisnell, Science North’s director of STEM engagement, explained the genesis of the new program.

“We just launched our newest series. It’s called ‘Northern Health Horizons: Story, Science, Solutions,’” she said.

“It’s all about bringing people together and sharing health information, research stories, things that connect to everyday life.”

The first free installment in the three-part series, titled ‘Wear Red Canada: Her Heart Matters,’ was held on Friday. The event was designed to empower attendees with practical skills and life-saving knowledge.

Jill Kusnierczyk, a co-organizer of the event in Sudbury, emphasized the importance of tailoring the message to a northern Ontario audience.

“We are really just trying to create a free community event for community members to learn about the risks, the signs and symptoms specific to women’s heart health,” she said.

“This is super important to a community like Sudbury, Ont., especially being in the north. It’s important that we have the same knowledge as people do elsewhere in Ontario as well as Canada.”

Chisnell highlighted how the event aligns perfectly with Science North’s core mandate of making science relatable and engaging for everyone.

“Science is about people. Science is about engagement and people being able to engage with scientists and that’s what Science North is all about: science communication, science engagement,” she said.

Addressing misconceptions

The national Wear Red Canada campaign underscores the urgency of the issue, noting that while one out of three women are affected by cardiovascular disease, the demographic remains under-studied, under-treated and under-aware regarding their heart health.

Organizers have worked to eliminate financial obstacles that might prevent women from seeking this vital information.

Kusnierczyk detailed how the partnership makes the event accessible to all.

“One of the barriers to access to this is our finances. So, I mean, through establishing a connection with the Northern Horizons here at Science North with the Med Talks and the Catalyst event, we’re able to offer subsidized cost and free of cost to our participants that are coming.”

The event aimed to dismantle long-held misconceptions about how heart disease presents in women compared to men.

Kusnierczyk also pointed out alarming statistics that highlight the dangers of misdiagnosis.

“One stat that comes to mind is that 50 per cent of heart attacks in women are not properly diagnosed,” she said.

“Why this is so important is because there are different signs and symptoms that we have to learn about and that’s actually one of the presentations.”

Community call to action

Organizers invited those attending the Her Heart Matters workshop to wear red to show unity in learning about women’s healthcare. The goal is to thoroughly inform attendees about what is statistically the leading cause of premature death in Canadian women.

The Friday night event was nearly sold out.

The two remaining events in the new signature series will be Northern MedTalks on April 23 and Catalyst on Nov. 5.