Women’s heart health, the focus of free Sudbury event

Wear Red Canada is holding an event in Sudbury to increase the awareness about women's heart health and what you should know.

Wear Red Canada is an initiative that’s celebrated annually across the country on February 13 to raise awareness about the risks and symptoms specific to heart disease in women.

“Cardiovascular disease is actually the leading cause of death for women worldwide, which is a huge statistic,” Jill Kusnierczyk, Her Heart Matters co-chair.

“And the one thing that we can do, as a community, is to start the conversation in our community. Cardiovascular disease (is) extremely treatable and preventable.”

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The event will feature six keynote speakers, all of whom are leaders in health care within the City of Greater Sudbury.

Event organizers said each has different expertise in the area of women’s heart health.

These are the presentations:

• Journeys of the Heart: Navigating Women’s Health Through Menopause with Roxanna Righi, obstetrician/gynecologist
• Your Heart, Your Surgery: Empowering Women’s Perioperative Care with Kaitlin Duncan, anesthesiologist/perioperative medicine
• Moving with Heart: The Role of Functional Movement in Women’s Cardiac Health with Jenine Saunders, manual therapist and fascial/movement educator
• Broken Hearted: Breaking Barriers and Stigma to Heart Failure in Women with Kari Kostiw, nurse practitioner/heart failure clinic
• Fueling the Heart: Empowering Women and Girls with Heart-Healthy Nutrition with registered dietician Lisa Gauthier
• Be Courageous, Learn CPR with Northern City of Heroes

“My presentation is trying to translate what the evidence says in regards to nutrition to lower our risk of developing cardiovascular disease as women and girls living in northern Ontario,” Gauthier said.

“Some of the topics would include switching from saturated fat to unsaturated fats, including more dietary fibre and plant-based proteins and aiming to eat fish at least twice a week.”

The registered dietician said there is often pressure to be perfect, but she encourages patients to focus on progress and not perfection.

“We’re working at a moving target. We’re starting slow. We’re building on positive habit, and that the goal is not to have a perfect diet,” Gauthier said.

“The goal is to find this balance between what you love and what’s going to nurture your body. So focusing on that and focusing on nutrition by addition. So what can we add versus what should we take away.”

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This is the second year for the Her Heart Matters event in Sudbury and organizers said they hope to see a turnout of around 200 people.

Those planning to attend are encouraged to wear red in support of Women’s Heart Health Month.