CWHHA ATLAS | Women's Heart Health Centre

The Canadian Women’s Heart Health Alliance ATLAS on the Epidemiology, Diagnosis, and Management of Cardiovascular Disease in Women

The Canadian Women’s Heart Health Alliance (CWHHA) ATLAS is a collection of chapters to be published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology Open, accompanied by detailed infographics, that report on the current state of cardiovascular disease in women. The goal of the ATLAS is to help clinicians recognize the unique aspects of women’s heart health care and provide policy-makers with the information they need to ensure equitable care for women with cardiovascular disease.

The ATLAS uses an expansive and ongoing collection of research articles assembled for the scientific statement published by the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA), State of the Science in Women's Cardiovascular Disease: A Canadian Perspective on the Influence of Sex and Gender, authored by members of the Canadian Women’s Heart Health Alliance.

Learn more about the ATLAS

Watch ATLAS Webinars on YouTube

Chapters

Chapter 1: Introduction to the ATLAS

This chapter aims to provide a critical appraisal of the currently inadequate evidence base to support female-specific clinical guidelines and recommendations for CVD in Canada.

View Chapter 1 on CJC Open >>

Download Chapter 1 Infographic

Chapter 2: Scope of the Problem

This chapter aims to summarize the epidemiology of cardiovascular disease in women in Canada; discuss sex- and gender disparities; and, examine the intersectionality between sex and other disparities that play a prominent role in CVD outcomes in women, including Indigenous identity, ethnic variations, disability, and socioeconomic status.

View Chapter 2 on CJC Open >>

Download Chapter 2 Infographic

Webinar Presenters:

Heather J A Foulds, PhD
Heart and Stroke/CIHR Early Career Indigenous Women’s Heart and Brain Health Chair
Assistant Professor
University of Saskatchewan
Saskatoon, SK

Shahin Jaffer, MD, MHSc, FRCPC

Clinical Professor of Medicine
University of British Columbia
Division of Community General Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine Consultant, Fraser Health Authority
Vancouver, BC

Chapter 3: Patient Perspectives

This chapter aims to provide a review of existing knowledge and to identify gaps regarding experiencing and living with CVD from the perspective of women with lived experience.

View Chapter 3 on CJC Open >>

Download Chapter 3 Infographic

Watch Webinar >> | Presentation (PDF)

Webinar Presenters:

Hope Sarfi
Member, Knowledge Translation and Mobilization Working Group, Canadian Women’s Heart Health Alliance
Woman with Lived Experience
Richmond, BC
@Hsarfi

Tracey J.F. Colella, PhD, RN
Member, Knowledge Translation and Mobilization Working Group, Canadian Women’s Heart Health Alliance
Clinician Scientist
KITE | Toronto Rehab | UHN
Cardiovascular Prevention & Rehabilitation Program
Associate Professor
Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, Rehabilitation Sciences Institute
University of Toronto
@ColellaTracey

#HerHeartMattersATLAS Twitter Chat (Journal Club)

Have a look at the interactive discussion that took place on Twitter with @CWHHAlliance. Search #HerHeartMattersATLAS to find all posts. This discussion took place on May 18, 2021.

Chapter 4: Sex- and Gender-Unique Disparities: CVD Across the Lifespan

This chapter aims to review disparities in CVD risk through the lens of sex and gender, and in the context of reducing knowledge gaps and developing optimal strategies for awareness and treatment.

View Chapter 4 on CJC Open >>

Download Chapter 4 Infographic

Watch Webinar >> | Presentation (PDF)

Webinar presenters:

Donna Hart, BA, RSW

Member, Health Systems and Policy Working Group

CAN-RESTORE Standard Steering Committee

World Transplant Games Athletic Advisory Committee – Swimming

Patient Partner, Canadian National Transplant Research Program (CNTRP)

Gender Outcomes International Group: to Further Well-being Development (GOING-FWD)

Woman with Lived Experience

Milton, ON | @recycleyourself

Kara Nerenberg, MD, MSc

Member, Knowledge Translation and Mobilization Working Group

Associate Professor, University of Calgary

Departments of Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology and Community Health Sciences

General Internal Medicine, Obstetric Internal Medicine

Calgary, AB | @KaraNerenberg

#HerHeartMattersATLAS Twitter Chat (Journal Club)

Have a look at the interactive discussion that took place on Twitter with @CWHHAlliance. Search #HerHeartMattersATLAS to find all posts. This discussion took place on December 7, 2021.

Chapter 5: Sex- and Gender-Unique Manifestations of CVD

This chapter reviews the current and evolving knowledge regarding sex- and some gender-unique manifestations of cardiovascular disease (CVD), including symptom presentation, pathophysiology, and outcomes, from clinical trial data, when available, and observational reports.

View Chapter 5 on CJC Open >>

Download Chapter 5 Infographic

Watch Webinar >> | Presentation (PDF)

Webinar presenters:

Bobbi Jo Green

Educator, Woman With Lived Experience

Member of the Advocacy Workin Group

Edmonton, AB

Christine Pacheco, MD, MSc, FRCPC

Healthcare Professional Co-Chair, Knowledge Translation and Mobilization Working Group
Cardiologist, Pierre-Boucher Hospital and University of Montréal Hospital Centre (CHUM)
Faculty Member, Department of Medicine, University of Montréal
Clinical Investigator-Researcher, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de Université de Montréal (CRCHUM)
Montreal, QC | @cpachecoMD

Chapter 6: Sex- and Gender-Specific Cardiovascular Diagnosis and Treatment

This chapter summarizes the sex- and gender-specific diagnosis and treatment of acute/unstable presentations and non-acute/stable presentations of cardiovascular disease in women.

View Chapter 6 on CJC Open >>

Download Chapter 6 Infographic

Watch Webinar >> | Presentation (PDF)

Webinar presenters:

Catherine Goodenough, Retired RN, CGN(C)

Member, Advocacy Working Group
Woman with Lived Experience
Mississauga, ON | @cathgoodenough

Monica Parry, MEd, MSc, NP-Adult, PhD, CCN(C)

Member, Knowledge Translation and Mobilization Working
Group
Associate Professor, Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of
Nursing, University of Toronto
Nurse Practitioner, Cardiac Program, Kingston Health
Sciences Centre
Toronto, ON | @parryresearch

Chapter 7: Sex, Gender, and the Social Determinants of Health

This chapter summarizes literature that reports on underrecognized sex and gender related risk factors that intersect with psychosocial, economic and cultural factors in the diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of women’s cardiovascular health.

View Chapter 7 on CJC Open >>

Download Chapter 7 Infographic

Watch Webinar >> | Presentation (PDF)