Wear Red Canada Date in the current year: February 13, 2024

Contrary to a common misconception that heart disease is a “man’s disease”, it is the leading cause of premature death in women in Canada, as well as the leading cause of death for women globally. According to statistics, it affects 1 in 3 women, and women are 7 times more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than breast cancer.

Historically, medical studies have excluded female participants. As a result, even today many medical professionals are unaware that the symptoms of heart disease can manifest differently in women than in men. Because of this, heart attack symptoms are not recognized in more than half of women.

In addition, there are certain female-specific risk factors for heart disease that include some pregnancy complications, early age of menstruation or menopause, PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), and diabetes mellitus (women living with diabetes are more vulnerable to heart disease than men).

Finally, women are more likely to have some types of heart disease than man. Common types of heart disease include coronary art disease, valvular heart disease, and arrhythmia, whereas women are more likely to have spontaneous coronary artery dissection, coronary vasospasm, microvascular dysfunction, and Takotsubo cardiomyopathy.

Wear Red Canada is the initiative of the Canadian Women’s Heart Alliance (CWHHA) and the Canadian Women’s Health Heart Centre at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. Its main goal is to remind everyone in Canada, but especially women, that cardiovascular conditions affect about one-third of all women, yet women around the globe, even in developed countries, are under-studied, under-diagnosed, under-treated, and under-aware.

The easiest way to observe Wear Red Canada is to wear something red, take a selfie, and post it on social media with the hashtags #WearRedCanada and #HerHeartMatters to spread the word and start conversations.

However, if you want to be more proactive, there are other ways to get involved and help raise awareness about women’s heart health. For example, you can participate in a Wear Red Canada event near you (there’s a list on wearredcanada.ca) or even plan an event of your own, take part in the Wear Red Canada Movement Challenge, donate to or volunteer for an organization dedicated to improving women’s cardiovascular health, and reach out to your local representative and submit a request to proclaim February 13 as Wear Red Canada Day in your town, city, territory or province.

Every February 13, landmarks, sights, historic and popular buildings, bridges, storefronts, and signs across Canada light up red to raise awareness of women’s hearth health. Canadian cities and towns that have participated in the Light the Town RED campaign include Bathurst, Calgary, Dieppe, Estevan, Fredericton, Mississauga, Moncton, Moose Jaw, Ottawa, Regina, Saskatoon, Sudbury, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg, and more.