REGINA – Heart health continues to be a major problem in Canada despite increasing survival rates and advances in research.
On Tuesday, the Heart and Stroke Foundation released their report card, showing heart disease and stroke are still the second leading cause of death in Canada.
However, one of the most remarkable improvements over the years has been survival rates. Now, 95 per cent of heart attack patients will survive, a vast improvement from the 1950’s when that number was as low as 30 to 35 per cent.
Cardiovascular disease is responsible for 66,000 deaths in Canada annually, and even though research has advanced, there are still some risk factors that have caused medical advances to lose ground. This includes cases of diabetes in heart attack patients (sitting at 31 per cent), and the growing number of obese/overweight Canadians (60 per cent).
Cardiologist Andrea Lavoie recommends three ways to reduce these risks:
- Walking 30 to 45 minutes a day, eating healthy and avoiding smoking
- Understanding your genetic background
- Ensuring you don’t have high blood pressure or high cholesterol
For more information on Heart Health Month head to the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s website.
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