Every seven minutes that passes by someone somewhere in Canada will die from heart disease. February is heart month across Canada creating awareness that heart disease is still a leading cause of death for Canadians. Slightly over thirty percent of deaths across our country are caused by heart disease, and it is the leading cause of death in women.

This month more then 70,000 volunteers will canvass door-to-door across the country to help change this statistic. As the face of the Heart and Stroke Foundation, each canvasser visits approximately 20-25 houses on a specific route in his or her neighborhood and thanks residents for past donations, raises awareness of their cause and collects funds for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

More than 60 years ago, a visionary group of Canadians, including physicians and researchers, established the National Heart Foundation of Canada with big hopes for the future. The dream was to put heart health on the public agenda, to empower researchers to turn the tide on heart disease, and to educate Canadians about their hearts. Today, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada is at work in communities from coast to coast.

With the help of over 70,000 volunteers the organization has provided empowerment in Canadians to make positive choices and prevent disease. In recent years the drop in heart disease has been very obvious. Family Physician Dr Denis Fortier of Southern Health Sante Sud says that he believes it is due to the decrease in the amount of people smoking. Fortier also says your best defense against Heart Disease is to avoid the risks like, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, stress, excessive alcohol consumption, and being overweight.