Heart & Stroke 2023 Fall impact report

Beat as one

Big breakthroughs. Better health. Because of YOU.

First COVID-19, then a stroke

In the spring of 2021, after more than two weeks in hospital – and four days in intensive care –Katherine Isaac felt like she was finally recovering from COVID-19.

Suddenly, the room began spinning and her left arm felt strange. When her doctor said she’d su ered a stroke, the 45-year-old active mom thought it was a misdiagnosis.

Then she learned that COVID-19 can trigger blood clots, and one had gone to her brain. She worried about her husband Sheldon and their two young daughters.

While her recovery was tough, she has made great progress. But Katherine manages her expectations:

“I hope for a 100% recovery. But I also need to accept that I might not get 100%.”

Pushing research forward for those we love

For 70+ years, 95% of the $1.6 billion invested to beat heart disease and stroke has been donor funded. YOU fuel the research that saves lives and helps people like Katherine and her family.

Living with stroke: Katherine Isaac

Samantha beat stroke

The key to preventing

Making every beat count

Living an active life could reverse frailty as you age. Why do some people age better than others? Dr. Susan Howlett is working to level the playing field.

As we age, some decline into poor health, while others remain robust.

To find out why, Heart & Stroke researcher Dr. Susan Howlett, a professor of pharmacology and geriatric medicine at Dalhousie University, is targeting frailty – a condition that happens when health issues leave you depleted and vulnerable.

She has pioneered the idea that overall health can be measured with a “frailty index” tool in aging animals. It has shown that “the mice with the worst functioning hearts and cells were the ones with the highest frailty scores.”

To address the link between frailty and declining heart function, she’s testing to see if a combination of drugs and exercise will improve frailty.

In keeping with Heart & Stroke’s commitment to health equity, Dr. Howlett is excited about the potential of finding treatments to reduce frailty across all sex and gender categories. 9 in 10 people in Canada have at least one risk factor for heart disease, stroke or vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). When you give to Heart & Stroke, you are helping to advance breakthrough research like Dr. Howlett’s.

YOU make it possible

Former Miss Universe Canada delegate, Samantha Gomez, was 23 when her world turned upside down.

earching for her car keys 7 years ago, Samantha Gomez kept asking her family: “Where are my limes?” She didn’t understand why everyone looked worried. Samantha was experiencing the first symptoms of a severe ischemic stroke.

When doctors said recovery would be hard and not guaranteed, fiance Rob took the next level. Her medical team couldn’t believe her progress. About Canadians who have had a stroke live with some degree of disability that daily activities.

married and parents to Santiago and Camila, Samantha and Rob feel lucky, still finding it hard to believe her stroke ever happened: “Our lifestyle is healthy, our family bond is strong. Everyone should know the signs of stroke so they can help themselves and loved ones.”

I’m interested, not in prolonging lifespan, but prolonging health span – promoting healthy aging.

Dr. Susan Howlett, Heart & Stroke researcher

Immune system could hold key to preventing heart attacks

You’re helping Dr. Bryan Heit unlock secrets to target atherosclerosis.

Heart & Stroke support is playing a crucial role. It has allowed us to pursue this project, which is higher-risk.

Dr. Bryan Heit, Heart & Stroke researcher

We’re ultimately trying to find ways to manipulate the immune system in a way that reverses atherosclerosis,” says Dr. Bryan Heit, professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Western University.

The most common type of heart disease, atherosclerosis, happens when clumps of fatty plaque build up inside blood vessels in your heart. Those clumps can rupture, blocking blood flow and causing a heart attack.

Dr. Heit describes it as an immunological disorder. “When cholesterol deposits build up in blood vessels of your heart, your immune system brings cells called macrophages to clean up the mess,” he says.

In about half of us, that cleanup fails. “The macrophages, instead of cleaning up that cholesterol, accumulate and die.” Dr. Heit’s team is working to discover what triggers this negative cycle, and then find ways to disrupt it.

With Heart & Stroke funding, they identified GATA2 – a gene expressed by macrophages as they clean up cholesterol. “We’re looking at whether targeting GATA2 might be a way of preventing all that from happening.” To study this, the team uses tissue samples and blood from people undergoing bypass surgery.

Dr. Heit’s innovative approach could help people by treating atherosclerosis before it advances. While higher-risk, his findings could prevent heart attacks and save lives.

A love story saved: Thanks to YOU

“It’s hard to imagine how sick I was just eight years ago.”

At 57, Donna logged thousands of kilometers on her bike each year with husband Barry. Imagine their devastation when Donna was diagnosed with heart failure caused by giant cell myocarditis: a rare disease that left her heart damaged beyond repair. Only a heart transplant would save her life.

Then, the unimaginable happened: Barry had a heart attack. He was rushed to emergency where he had surgery to implant stents into his blocked arteries. Less than a week after Barry’s surgery the family got the news they wanted: There was a heart for Donna.

you.

Today, Donna and Barry are managing their conditions via check-ups with their cardiologist.

And they’ll continue to do everything they can to maintain their health, especially as new grandparents who love to spoil their granddaughter!

These are the positive outcomes you help make possible. Thank

Making every beat count today – and tomorrow

Passing on a proud tradition: supporting the cause that’s close to their hearts.

After marrying in 1965, Barrie and Carol Clayton moved the Calgary farm founded by Barrie’s grandfather

For years, times were tight, making it hard to donate to organizations they loved. Eventually, they were able to support a few, including Heart & Stroke.

Both have a family history of heart disease.

Now, Heart & Stroke research means even more: “In ‘family tradition,’ I have heart issues which are fortunately controlled with medications,” Carol shares. “Barrie has arrhythmia, managed with medication and a pacemaker”.

Barrie and Carol have planned a legacy gift in their Wills: “Heart & Stroke is dedicated to advocating for education around heart disease, like how to better our lifestyle choices and maintain proper health.”

Setting an example for their children and grandchildren is also important to them. “We want to leave a legacy of hard work,” Barrie says. ”Careful management of resources and community service to support organizations we feel are valuable.”

I’m grateful for the medical advances that have been made, because the condition I have isn’t interfering with my lifestyle at all.

Barrie Clayton