Reaffirming BPW Canada 1994 Resolution: Research Grants for Women & Heart Disease 2020

BACKGROUND: At its 1994 Convention, BPW Canada adopted a resolution on Research Grants for Women & Heart Disease which urged the Federal Government to make available increased research grants for more comprehensive studies on women and heart disease.In the twenty-six years since the BPW Canada requested funding for research grants for women with heart disease, the majority of research dollars have been spent on male subjects or do not identify between sex or gender in the published results. The lack of comprehensive women directed health research limits the generation of knowledge and programs which can have a positive impact on women’s cardiovascular health. These gaps were documented in the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada’s 2018 Heart Report: “Today, when it comes to heart disease, women are under-researched, under-diagnosed and under-treated, under-supported and under-aware”. According to the most recent Statistics Canada data more than 25,000 women die each year from heart disease, early heart signs were missed in 78% of women, heart disease is the leading cause of premature death in women and every 20 minutes a woman in Canada dies of heart disease. These are staggering numbers that could be greatly reduced if women were properly diagnosed, and research in this area could make that happen.