Beat as one. That’s how our donors, volunteers, partners and employees power the pulse of Heart & Stroke.
Together, you fund the research that saves lives. You drive the change that’s building healthier generations. And you ease the burden on those who live with these diseases.
In fiscal 2024, thanks to your support, Heart & Stroke invested $34.1 million in research, and $38 million in advocacy and health promotion.
Here are some key milestones you helped achieve in fiscal 2024.
Breakthroughs that save lives
In 2024, your support funded 1,005 of Canada’s top researchers, trainees and contributors, who are working to reduce the impact of heart disease and stroke, extend lives and keep families together longer. Here are a few examples of how they put your dollars to work:
- Dr. Luc Mertens, Dr. Thalia Field, and Dr. Andrew Mackie are undertaking groundbreaking research to support those living with congenital heart disease.
- Dr. Rohan D’Souza and Dr. Amy Yu are addressing risk factors, diagnosis and the treatment of heart and brain conditions among women.
- Dr. Robert Hegele is racing to prevent heart attacks by uncovering complex genetic patterns that trigger high cholesterol.
- Dr. Swati Mehta is filling a crucial gap in mental health support for people recovering from stroke.
- Dr. Philip Barber is harnessing the power of AI to prevent or slow vascular cognitive impairment.
Also in 2024, your gifts funded crucial expansion of women’s heart and brain health research.
- Thinking big: Cross-Canada teams led by Dr. Rohan D’Souza and Dr. Amy Yu received $5 million each over five years as Research Networks of Excellence in Women’s Heart and/or Brain Health, focused on increasing knowledge around heart health in pregnancy, and stroke outcomes for women.
- Building the next generation: Fifteen early-career researchers won the inaugural Doctoral and Post-Doctoral Awards for Women’s Heart and/or Brain Health, opening the door to careers focused on women’s health.
- Going international: Heart & Stroke joined 11 other major global research funders to launch the International Research Challenge on Women’s Cardiovascular Health, aimed at fostering international collaboration and driving transformative impact, with up to $10 million (US) over five years to address areas of need within women’s cardiovascular health.
Further research investments in 2024 will increase diversity in the next generation of researchers.
- The first 15 Indigenous Scholar Personnel Awards were awarded, funded by Heart & Stroke with partners to increase the number of trainees from Indigenous communities working in heart and/or brain research.
- Heart & Stroke launched the second year of the Master’s and Doctoral Personnel Awards for Black Scholars, which will support graduate students to undertake a program of heart and/or brain research.
Sharing knowledge that saves lives
Heart & Stroke equips the public and health professionals with evidence-based knowledge and tools to save lives and improve health outcomes. Your support helped reach these milestones in 2024.
- Raising awareness of stroke signs: Tireless promotion over 10 years has doubled the number of people in Canada who can name at least two of the FAST signs of stroke. Plus, a new FAST toolkit was developed for Indigenous communities, in partnership with Manitoba First Nations communities.
- Teaching people to save lives: Heart & Stroke's award-winning, gamified resuscitation program, CardiacCrash™, was used to train 11,200 people to provide lifesaving techniques for cardiac arrest. Our regular resuscitation training issued 470,000 certifications — a 4% increase from the previous year.
- Improving survival from in-hospital cardiac arrest: In partnership with the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR), Heart & Stroke developed 10 key recommendations to improve survival rates.
- Increasing access to defibrillators: Heart & Stroke advocacy spurred action by several provincial governments, including funding automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in British Columbia, an AED registry in Ontario, and $3.5 million to improve AED access in Quebec.
- Spreading the word on cardiac arrest: For Heart Month in February 2024, Heart & Stroke highlighted cardiac arrest — which can strike without warning and take a life at any age. The report generated a remarkable 88 million impressions.
Building healthier generations through advocacy and health promotion
Up to eight in 10 cases of premature stroke and heart disease can be prevented through lifestyle and behaviours (like eating a healthy diet, staying active and being smoke-free). So reducing risk factors is crucial to promoting lifelong health.
Here are the advocacy and health promotion successes your support made possible in 2024.
- National Universal Pharmacare becomes real: Historic legislation establishing initial stages of a national pharmacare plan was passed — following years of Heart & Stroke advocacy. The federal budget allocated $1.5 billion over five years to support the plan’s first phase.
- Protecting youth from vaping: A 12% vape tax increase came into effect across Canada on July 1 to prevent younger generations from starting or maintaining a vaping habit. Plus, several provinces implemented or promised vape taxes, and Ontario launched a school-based strategy to reduce vaping, including Heart & Stroke recommendations.
- Restricting youth access to nicotine and tobacco: Progress in 2024 included a federal tax increase of $4 per carton of 200 cigarettes, plus new regulations to restrict youth access to nicotine pouches.
- Bringing healthy meals to kids: A national school nutrition program moved closer to reality with a federal budget allocation of $1 billion over five years. The program will provide healthy meals to an estimated 400,000 kids annually.
- Getting children moving: More than 820,000 school kids across Canada participated in Heart & Stroke Jump Rope for Heart in 2024 — a 10% increase over the previous year. They learned about the importance of physical activity and practiced healthy habits while raising funds for life-saving research.
- Growing educational resources: A new digital ecosystem for Heart & Stroke’s HeartSmart Kids program delivers 200 free educational activities about heart and brain health for Indigenous and non-Indigenous children and educators. In 2024, educators in Indigenous communities used the program to teach 15,664 children and youth.
Enhancing recovery
Heart & Stroke partners with people and organizations across Canada who live with heart disease and stroke, working with them to deliver resources and meaningful connections. You supported important progress in 2024.
- Shining a light on heart failure: A comprehensive list of heart failure resources will support and empower people living with this condition. Heart & Stroke also co-hosted two successful heart failure webinars for healthcare professionals as well as helped promote Heart Failure Awareness Week.
- Steps to support congenital heart disease: A Congenital Heart Disease Engagement Working Group was formed, including people living with congenital heart conditions, to co-create a network model and engagement process for individuals and families.
- Updating Canadian Stroke Best Practice Recommendations: This crucial resource provides information and tools to healthcare professionals caring for people with stroke. In 2024 Heart & Stroke launched the seventh edition of the CSBPR Cerebral Venous Thrombosis (CVT) Module, with guidance on this rare and potentially life-threatening stroke.
Health equity: Closing the gaps
Some communities in Canada face inequities in access to healthcare or bear a disproportionate burden of disease and risk for heart and brain conditions — including women, Indigenous people, and Black communities. With your support, Heart & Stroke is working alongside community partners to close gaps in diagnosis, treatment and care.
Targeted research initiatives are one piece of Heart & Stroke’s health equity strategy. Here are other advances you made possible in 2024:
- An innovative digital hub on women’s risk factors throughout their life stages will help more women manage their own health.
- A new Stroke Rehabilitation Educational Resource was co-created by Heart & Stroke with First Nations communities in Manitoba. It will support culturally safe and coordinated transitions for Indigenous people recovering from stroke.
- An Indigenous Research Symposium in partnership with McMaster University brought together Indigenous elders, Indigenous researchers and Heart & Stroke research leaders to discuss how to conduct heart and brain research with and for Indigenous people, “in a good way.”
- Heart & Stroke engaged key organizations in the Black community to share key information on women’s health and the FAST signs of stroke, and to identify knowledge gaps around cardiovascular risk factors.
See our most recent financial statements.
Learn more about how Heart & Stroke invests your donations.
Learn more about Heart & Stroke research.