Poll: Canadians are concerned about and motivated to improve their heart and brain health
TORONTO , Sept. 22, 2025 /CNW/ - Heart & Stroke is launching an online screening tool to help people understand their heart and brain health risks and support them to take action. Heart & Stroke Risk Screen takes into account individual factors including lifestyle behaviours, medical history, sex, age, and life stages specific to women such as pregnancy and menopause and provides a customized action plan.
Nine in 10 people in Canada have at least one risk factor for heart disease or stroke. These include behaviours that can be modified such as diet, physical activity and smoking and those that cannot be modified such as sex, age and genetics, and medical risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes. Personal circumstances and social factors can also play an important role.
Some risk factors can be unique to women or can impact them differently compared to men, and they can evolve over the course of their lives. Yet according to a new Heart & Stroke poll* only four in 10 women are certain that women's risk of heart disease and stroke changes across women's life stages. Heart disease and stroke are the number one premature cause of death in women in Canada.
The poll also reveals that Canadians are virtually unanimous in their belief around the importance of understanding the factors that put them at risk for heart disease and stroke (97%) and taking steps to prevent them by understanding, reducing and managing their personal risk factors (98%). At the same time, Canadians not only lack understanding around their risks, they are also concerned about them. According to the poll:
- Only half of Canadians know their own risk factors for heart disease and stroke, and men are more aware than women.
- More than one in three Canadians do not know their blood pressure and over half do not know their cholesterol or their blood sugar levels.
- Almost seven out of 10 Canadians are concerned about their existing or potential risks for heart disease and stroke, and two in 10 are very concerned. Women are more concerned than men.
"We know that Canadians take their personal risks seriously and want to know more so they can take steps to protect their heart and brain health," says Dr. Christine Faubert, vice president, health equity and mission impact, Heart & Stroke. "We have developed a tool that will not only raise awareness but also provide concrete and personalized information to support individuals to make positive changes, including women who are often not aware of their unique risks."
Built upon the most up-to-date evidence with input from top health experts and others, and tested with thousands of individuals across the country, Risk Screen is a central component of a comprehensive suite of resources.
"The tool will be so valuable to increase understanding around risk factors. The science behind it is solid and although other good tools exist, I don't know of any other tool quite like it. It is specifically focused on heart and brain health and accounts for a comprehensive mix of medical, lifestyle and personal factors," says Dr. Kara Nerenberg, Women's Heart and Brain Health Mid-Career Research Chair, University of Calgary.
Risk Screen is free, and easy and quick to complete. Once all questions are answered, a profile appears onscreen highlighting the user's personal risks, flagging those which can be changed or managed as well as those that cannot be changed, and highlighting those that are already being well managed. A customized action plan with recommendations is provided as well as a unique link to a more detailed report with additional information, links and tips to get started. Additional information will be provided by email on an ongoing basis to support users on their continued risk education and management journey.
At 46, Adria Scarano is aware of her increased risk for heart disease and stroke as she approaches menopause, so she is doubling down on her commitment to healthy, active living, while adapting to her current life stage. "As you get older you have to work even harder to stay healthy. Now that I'm in peri-menopause, I know that I need to be active more often," she says. "I'm also trying to increase vegetables in my diet and drink a lot more water."
Our poll demonstrates that Canadians know they can make healthy changes and are motivated to do so. About nine in 10 Canadians say they can improve their diet, be more physically active and do more to manage their stress; seven in 10 Canadians believe they can reduce their alcohol consumption. At the same time almost nine in 10 Canadians are motivated to make changes to reduce or manage their risks for heart disease and stroke and more than three in 10 report being very motivated.
"As much as 80% of premature heart disease and stroke can be prevented, and Heart & Stroke is committed to supporting people to make healthy changes," says Dr. Faubert. "We will continue to expand our suite of resources to support all people in Canada to take action to reduce or manage their heart and brain health risks."
*National, bilingual online poll of 2842 Canadian residents between the ages of 30-74 years, carried out May 8 to 22 2025 by Ipsos
For more information:
- Access Risk Screen at Heartandstroke.ca/riskscreen OR Riskscreen.heartandstroke.ca/en-CA
- Women's risk factor hub: heartandstroke.ca/women
- Heart disease risk and prevention: heartandstroke.ca/heart-disease/risk-and-prevention
- Stroke risk and prevention: heartandstroke.ca/stroke/risk-and-prevention
About Heart & Stroke
Life. We don't want you to miss it. That's why Heart & Stroke has been leading the fight to beat heart disease and stroke for more than 70 years. We must generate the next medical breakthroughs, so Canadians don't miss out on precious moments. Together, with the generous support of our donors, partners and volunteers we are working to prevent disease, save lives and promote recovery through research, health promotion and public policy. Heartandstroke.ca @HeartandStroke #BeatHeartDisease #BeatStroke
SOURCE Heart and Stroke Foundation
Contact Information: Stephanie Lawrence, [email protected], 613 290 4236
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