2020 Year-End Impact Report
Beat as one Big breakthroughs. Better health. Because of YOU.
Feature:
YOU help uncover the link between heart disease and COVID-19 See how on page 4
A look inside your year-end report: Predict and prevent heart disease Page 2
A matter of life and death Page 5
Better stroke care during a crisis Page 6
You are helping find ways to predict heart disease – and prevent it Preventing early-onset heart disease means identifying the genetic causes. You’re helping Dr. Guillaume Paré crack the code.
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ersonalized medicine. That’s what Dr. Guillaume Paré imagines is possible if we can predict a person’s risk based on their genetic code. While over 100 genes have been shown to contribute to the risk of developing heart disease, there is currently limited knowledge to help clinicians pinpoint which genes put patients most at risk. That could soon change, thanks to Heart & Stroke donors like YOU. With your support, Dr. Paré aims to fill this gap in knowledge by developing risk scores based on genetic information. “Our goal is to identify people at high risk of heart disease, before it becomes apparent, so that early and effective preventative measures can be used.”
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By helping Dr. Paré develop risk scores based on genetic factors, you’re bringing us closer to uncovering the cause of heart disease and providing completely customized interventions. And thanks to rapid advances and reduced costs in genetic testing technology, there has never been a better time to invest in this work. “The use of genetic testing could be a vital source of information to improve clinical diagnosis of heart disease, and save lives.”
Help me find the genetic culprits for heart disease and save lives. Dr. Guillaume Paré, Heart & Stroke researcher
6 key facts about COVID-19: attack, cardiac arrest and stroke are all medical emergencies. You must still call 9-1-1: hospitals 1 Heart have protocols and experts in place to treat people with heart or stroke symptoms — even during the COVID-19 crisis. with underlying medical conditions are at higher risk of serious complications from 2 People COVID-19. Heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure are all underlying conditions associated with an increased risk of poorer outcomes from COVID-19. is no scientific evidence to suggest that heart medications may increase your risk of 3 There COVID-19. You should continue to take all your medications as prescribed. Talk to your healthcare providers before starting, stopping or changing your medications. 2
E-cigarettes are addicting a new generation to nicotine Studies confirm skyrocketing e-cigarette use among youth.
Heart & Stroke is calling on the federal government to take decisive action to strengthen regulations to protect our youth from vaping.
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recent Canadian study showed that vaping among youth skyrocketed by 112% from 2017– 2019. Now one-fifth of grade 7-12 students in Canada vape. Products that were once described as “cigarettes on training wheels” could unfortunately be living up to their description.
Heart & Stroke is calling on the federal government to take decisive action to strengthen regulations to protect our youth from vaping.
Research suggests vaping is a gateway to smoking – youth who vape are more likely to try tobacco. Vaping is dangerous, especially for youth.
Thank you for supporting our past efforts to push government and policy makers to strengthen vaping and tobacco control legislation!
We don’t want this to become the vaping generation.
We need your voice again.
Find out how you can get involved and lend your voice. Visit heartandstroke.ca/vaping today!
heart conditions, stroke and managing your health is 4 Preventing more critical than ever. It’s important to manage your risk factors and live a healthy lifestyle at home, including heart-healthy exercise. distancing does not mean social isolation. People living with 5 Physical dementia, stroke or heart conditions are often dependent on other people for help with buying groceries, preparing meals and bathing. can and should continue for people with heart 6 Rehabilitation conditions or who have had a stroke. We’ve produced multiple free webinars for patients and caregivers during COVID-19. Find them at the link below!
Find all resources mentioned above at: heartandstroke.ca/coronavirus 3
This year YOU helped uncover the link between heart disease and COVID-19 A new diagnostic test for heart failure could also help COVID-19 patients. You’re helping Dr. Gavin Oudit lead the way.
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The crisis is an opportunity to better help all of our patients. Dr. Gavin Oudit, Heart & Stroke researcher
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ong before the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Gavin Oudit was examining how levels of certain peptides in the blood could predict outcomes in patients with heart failure. He never expected that these peptides would play a major role in COVID-19. The virus binds to an enzyme receptor that normally protects the cardiovascular system, and blocks the peptides from doing their job. “The virus picked the perfect receptor to bind to, this key enzyme that protects the cardiovascular system, the lungs, the kidneys, the gut and the central nervous system, and
hence these are the type of symptoms our patients are having.” Cardiovascular disease is a key feature of COVID-19, especially among those hospitalized in intensive care units with life-threatening symptoms. Thanks to YOU, Dr. Oudit’s research is leading the way towards better-targeted treatments. “We are fortunate that we have the understanding of ACE2, and we have both the research and therapeutic tools to target this pathway for patients with heart failure, and also now patients with COVID-19.”
Every 5 minutes, someone in Canada dies from heart disease, stroke and vascular dementia. It has never been more urgent to accelerate research breakthroughs like these, but we can’t do it without YOUR support today.
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How YOU can save a life in 90 seconds. Do you have a couple of minutes? That’s enough to learn the basics of CPR and how to use an AED.
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A matter of life and death YOUR support means more people in Canada are ready to deliver life-saving CPR and use an AED during emergencies. This is Shawn’s story. “Do you know CPR?” The woman dashing out of the cycling gym called to Shawn Beaulne, who was walking by. “Someone in there has collapsed.” Shawn, a special constable with the Brantford Police Service, was at the community centre in Ancaster, Ont., to watch his daughter’s hockey game. Rushing into the gym, he saw John Marechal wedged between the wall and a stationary bicycle. He was convulsing and gasping then stopped breathing.
“Buddy, you’re not going to die on my watch” Shawn told the unconscious man. He suspected cardiac arrest — the man would die if his heart was not restarted. Someone grabbed the gym’s AED (automated external defibrillator). Following the instructions on the device, Shawn placed the pads on John’s chest. The AED measured his heart’s rhythm, then its display told Shawn to commence CPR. The device gave John’s heart a shock. Paramedics then whisked John to hospital, where he underwent surgery. Thanks to rapid treatment with both CPR and an AED, John Marechal recovered. In fact, the two strangers are now good friends and rode together in the Manulife Heart & Stroke Ride for Heart. “We had a fantastic time,” recalls Shawn. “It was very emotional. It’s so great to see John doing what he’s doing now.”
From right: Shawn Beaulne, John Marechal and Daryl Cheney, the paramedic who looked after John in the ambulance.
Did you know: AEDs are smart enough to treat only people who need it. If an unconscious person isn’t actually in cardiac arrest, the machine won’t deliver a shock. An estimated 35,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur each year in Canada and use of CPR and an AED within the first few minutes can more than double the chances that the person will survive.
We have short videos available online showing the simple actions you can take during an emergency. Visit heartandstroke.ca/cpr today — and be prepared. You never know when you can make a life-saving difference. If you see someone suddenly collapse or if they’re unresponsive, you can save their life using your phone and your hands while taking precautions during the pandemic.
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You helped provide better stroke care during a crisis Thanks to your support, Dr. Amy Yu is working to close the gender research gap.
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omen’s heart and brain outcomes have been historically under-represented in research. Because better insights into women’s health means better care, YOU’RE helping Heart & Stroke invest $4.3 million over five years into the work of 27 scientists. One of them is Dr. Amy Yu. Her project aims to find out how — and why — stroke impacts men and women differently. Women who have had a stroke have worse outcomes than men. Women have greater difficulties with everyday activities, such as eating meals, getting in and out of bed and using the washroom. Women are also less likely to return home after a hospital stay, with more ending up in
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long-term care, resulting in compounding physical and psychological effects. By quantifying these differences and identifying the factors that may explain them, you’re helping to develop individualized treatments to improve women’s recovery after a stroke.
Stroke often affects men’s and women’s brains differently, which can result in differences in recovery in long-term effects of stroke. YOU’RE helping us find out why.
If we can individualize treatment, we can improve the lives of women and men living with the effects of stroke. Dr. Amy Yu, Heart & Stroke researcher
A stroke during the pandemic: Adrienne Martin’s family recognized the signs of stroke from a Heart & Stroke ad on TV — and got life-saving stroke care just in time. For Adrienne Martin, signs of trouble began in January. “I was experiencing some numbness in my right arm, right leg and right side of my face,” she recalls. By March, the COVID-19 crisis was changing life for all people in Canada. Adrienne was working outside that day when she suddenly collapsed. Her husband Greg came running. “I couldn’t talk. I had no muscle control in my arm, and he said my face looked frozen,” she says. At the hospital, doctors confirmed that Adrienne had actually had multiple strokes. As difficult as it was, the COVID-19 situation was a blessing in some ways. “When I had my stroke, everyone was home. On a typical weekday I would have been alone.” 6
You’re helping protect the brain from stroke damage For every minute stroke goes untreated, 1.9 million brain cells die. A new drug called NA-1 can change that — thanks to YOU.
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Our lab was one of the few labs that could do this. Dr. Yu Tian Wang, Heart & Stroke researcher
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r. Yu Tian Wang was a young scientist at Toronto’s SickKids Hospital and the University of Toronto when donors like you funded his first research grant from Heart & Stroke in 1994. Today, he is a world leading expert on why brain cells die after a stroke. With your help, Dr. Wang’s research has made huge strides, resulting in four new brain medications. One, NA-1, is currently being tested on stroke patients, suspending the loss of brain cells and buying a patient critical time before they even reach the hospital. NA-1 was originally developed in Toronto by neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Tymianski, also funded with your support. He called on Dr. Wang to help accelerate this breakthrough.
“We moved their research from a culture dish into a real live animal model,” says Dr. Wang. This was difficult work that involved simulating human-like strokes in mice. “At that time, our lab was one of the few labs that could do this.”
Collaboration among researchers is a growing trend in research funding — and a deliberate strategy for Heart & Stroke. That means your research dollars bring top experts together to work on big problems, increasing the potential for success.
More medications: Meanwhile, Dr. Wang is hard at work on three other drugs. By targeting neuronal death pathways at different steps, these medications can work synergistically to help prevent brain cell death.
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Towards 2021: Your support powers the future We need you more than ever, because our fight is more urgent than ever. This crisis has changed life for everyone. Devastatingly, people we protect are at greater risk for developing serious medical complications if infected with COVID-19. That’s why Canadians are turning to Heart & Stroke for timely, credible information from our medical experts. Because of YOU, we can help them stay safe and healthy while managing their conditions and dealing with reduced access to health and rehabilitation services. But despite this urgent need, we’ve had to cancel or postpone all major fundraising events. Your support today will help overcome this shortfall, while continuing to fund the research that saves lives in every community in Canada. Any amount you can give will make a difference. Please give as generously as you can.
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With your support, we can be positioned for a strong future leading the fight against heart disease and stroke. Together, we will not only weather the pandemic but accelerate our research progress to protect the lives of all people in Canada.
Your support is why Heart & Stroke leads the fight against heart disease and stroke. We can’t do it without you. Doug Roth, Heart & Stroke CEO
Will your legacy be a future free from heart disease and stroke? For your complimentary copy of A Guide To Preparing Your Will, call Mary Goodfellow at 1-800-205-4438 or visit heartandstroke.ca/legacy
Dr. John McNeill chose to support Heart & Stroke with a gift in his Will.
3 easy, secure ways to make your special year-end gift today: Mail in your enclosed reply card
Donate online at HeartAndStroke.ca/Impact
Call 1-877-882-2582
With your continued support, we can beat heart disease and stroke. Together. ™The heart and / Icon and the Heart&Stroke word mark are trademarks of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
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