Interested in becoming a Women@Heart Peer Leader?
Spaces are limited. Contact us for more information.
Are you a woman who has suffered from a heart event and in need of support?
Find a group nearest you: 2024 Fall Schedule
Join a Virtual Support Group
Quality of life is significantly lower for women than men after a cardiac event, and women who lack social support have a higher risk of fatal heart disease. The Women@Heart program is a peer support program led by women with heart disease, for women with heart disease that aims to create a caring environment for women to learn from each other and support one another on the road to recovery.
The program provides women with heart disease, in every community, with access to emotional support, education support and a caring environment for a better recovery.
How Women@Heart Works
Women@Heart lasts four months and consists of 10 two-hour sessions held weekly and bi-weekly in community settings and virtually across Canada. It is free and a physician referral is not required.
The sessions are run by Peer Leaders who are women who have had a successful recovery from heart disease and have a strong passion for supporting and helping other women on their road to recovery. Through a three-day training workshop, Women@Heart Peer Leaders are trained to become support network leaders within their local communities.
See a detailed overview of the topics that are covered in each session.
Interested in learning more about Women@Heart? Download our Women@Heart Postcard and Program Summary.
"Yeah, the group becomes your family because they understand what you’re going through for the particular situation. They understand better than anybody else.”
Are You Eligible?
To be eligible for Women@Heart, you must:
- Be a woman with heart disease (heart attack, angina, stent, bypass surgery, valve disorder, pacemaker)
- Have not been hospitalized or experienced significant cardiac symptoms within the last 6 weeks.
- Geographically available for attending local group sessions.
- Understand English or French.
- Be a Canadian resident.
How to Register
To register for Women@Heart, call the Prevention and Wellness Centre at
How can you get involved?
People who provide peer support experience higher rates of physical health and life satisfaction, lower rates of distress and are more optimistic about their health1. Discover the benefits that Peer Leaders and In-Patient Volunteers can gain by becoming involved.
How Can Healthcare Providers Get Involved?
Health care providers can encourage their female patients with heart disease to join Women@Heart. People living with chronic conditions need more than medical treatment from their health care providers; they need support in mastering and sustaining self-care behaviours that are necessary to enable them to live as healthy as possible.
The primary rehabilitative need for women may be that of support, particularly from women with similar experiences. We know that people are more likely to hear and personalize messages, and consequently to change their attitudes and behaviours, if they believe the peer is similar to them and faced the same concerns and pressures.
Contact Us
For more information call the Prevention and Wellness Centre at
Prevention and Wellness Centre
University of Ottawa Heart institute
40 Ruskin Street, Room H2353
Ottawa, Ontario
K1Y 4W7
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