Combatting the Gap

A woman dies every 16 minutes in Canada from cardiovascular disease, yet women’s heart health has long been overlooked.

It’s a truth that drives the Libin Institute Women’s Cardiovascular Health Initiative (WCHI) team. 

“Women make up at least half of the population and yet we are under-treating and under-studying this population,” says Dr. Paul Fedak, MD, PhD, director of the Libin Institute. “Given that cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death, that is really terrifying.”

Dr. Roopinder Sandhu, MD, agrees. A clinician-scientist specializing in heart rhythm and the director of the WCHI, Sandhu is leading efforts to close the gender gap in care, research and outcomes.

“There’s been this long-held misconception that women are protected from cardiovascular disease, and that’s resulted in a lack of understanding of cardiovascular disease in women, underdiagnosis and undertreatment,” she says. 

Much of the inequity stems from the fact that historically, most cardiovascular research focused on men, leaving women’s unique risk factors—like pregnancy and menopause—understudied. As a result, diagnosis can be delayed, symptoms misunderstood and treatments less effective for women.

The WCHI, launched in 2019 as a grassroots collaboration of passionate researchers and clinicians with diverse interests and specialties, was created to change that reality.

With a shared passion for improving cardiovascular health for women, the group had numerous early successes, including receiving a Certificate of Excellence from Hypertension Canada and a University of Calgary Equity, Diversity and Inclusion award. 

Today, the initiative is going strong and has an ambitious vision for the future. 

At its heart is a new clinic dedicated to women’s cardiovascular care, set to open under Sandhu’s leadership. 

The clinic, scheduled to open in 2025 as a pilot program, will bring together specialists across disciplines to offer integrated, research-informed care for women and gold-standard testing previously unavailable in Southern Alberta, all while fueling new discoveries about women’s heart health. The aim is to ensure that the information generated through research translates into clinical practice. 

Alongside this ambitious project, the WCHI will continue to empower the community by educating individuals in Calgary and beyond about women’s unique risk factors for cardiovascular disease and by encouraging them to take an active role in improving their own heart health. 

“We have an opportunity to develop a national centre of excellence right here in Calgary,” says Sandhu. “This is about improving the health of women at risk of, or living with, heart disease through exceptional care, innovative research, education and community engagement.” 

Every Gift Counts

A meaningful gift is that which is meaningful to you.

Your support of the Women’s Cardiovascular Health Initiative (WCHI) helps change the trajectory of women’s heart health. Every donation—large or small—makes a difference. Help the WCHI as it: 

• Improves women's cardiovascular health across the lifespan and promotes excellence in women’s cardiovascular health
• Launches its new clinic
• Develops a data infrastructure project [CF1]
• Fuels Future Leaders through its graduate scholarships and summer studentship
• Recognizes Excellence in Research through its student awards
• Seeds Innovation through its $50,000 Catalyst Grant supporting new research
• Empowers hundreds of Calgarians and surrounding communities towards better cardiovascular health annually through its public library series, signature community events and the Libin Wears Red movement
• Works to Establish Canada’s first fellowship in women’s cardiovascular health

Give today and help us save women’s lives by preventing and treating cardiovascular disease in a more personalized and precise way.