Heart

Looking healthy wasn’t the whole picture

Risk Screen helped Sharon uncover unexpected heart disease risks — and empowered her to take action.

When Sharon McVicar went to the hospital for foot surgery, heart disease wasn't on her radar. At 64, she exercised regularly, ate well and took a proactive approach to her health. Her blood pressure and bloodwork were normal.

Then, just minutes before the procedure, doctors told Sharon they’d discovered an unexpected heart issue during a pre-operative electrocardiogram (ECG). Although a cardiologist cleared her to proceed with surgery, she was advised to seek follow-up care.

Sisters Carolyn and Sharon sit on a couch together. Sharon is holding a tablet with the Risk Screen homepage open.

Sharon stands outside in front of a garden archway that is covered in vines.

Sharon wearing a pink jacket, paddling in a blue kayak on open water.

A surprising discovery

Once she was back on her feet after surgery, Sharon underwent more cardiology tests for the next several months. It turned out she had a left bundle branch block and had also experienced a silent heart attack at some point in the past. “It was all very unexpected,” she says.

Living in New Brunswick and recently retired, Sharon had been enjoying an active new chapter, doing her favourite fitness activities — hiking, yoga, pilates and weight training. She wanted to do everything possible to protect her health.

Screening for risks

Rather than going down internet rabbit holes researching heart disease, she went to the Heart & Stroke website for science-backed information. And there she discovered the Risk Screen tool. This online assessment was quick and easy to complete — and eye-opening.

As she went through a questionnaire designed to identify your unique heart and brain health risks, one question stood out to Sharon: Had she experienced preeclampsia during pregnancy?

Yes.

“I had no idea that was a risk factor,” she says.

That discovery prompted Sharon to contact her cardiologist and have this information documented in her medical history.

Hereditary risk factors

Risk Screen also changed how she thought about her family history. Although she knew her grandfather and his two brothers had died young from heart disease and her mother was on blood pressure medication, she’d not made the connection to her own potential health risks.

As more family conversations unfolded, Sharon learned her brother had been taking statins for years and her sister, Carolyn Csanyi, had been dealing with high cholesterol since menopause. “This really wasn’t on my radar,” she says.

It kept me calm and engaged. It reinforced that when you are making good choices, it will make a difference.

Sharon McVicar - Living with heart disease

The menopause-heart health connection

The tool highlighted the connection between the drop in estrogen levels that occurs around perimenopause and menopause and a rise in heart disease.

Like many women of her generation, Sharon says menopause wasn't something she’d discussed openly when it happened. “We just went through it,” she says. “I wish I'd known some of this information 10 or 15 years ago.”

Next steps for prevention

The Risk Screen tool and the personalized resources she went on to receive from Heart & Stroke helped her better understand her heart health and the steps she could take to reduce her risk.

“It kept me calm and engaged,” she says. “It reinforced that when you are making good choices, it will make a difference.”

Most importantly, it gave her the confidence to ask questions, advocate for herself and have informed conversations. It also motivated her to spread the word.

A screening tool for everyone

“I go to a local exercise studio with a wonderful group of women. We’re all between the ages of 50 and 79, and I told them all about the screening tool,” she says. Many were surprised by the unique risk factors they discovered.

Sharon’s sister took Risk Screen too. “You think you’re invincible until you get to our age and then, things start falling apart a bit. My sister’s scare was a bit of a wake-up call,” says Carolyn.

Getting ahead of heart disease and stroke

Being proactive is so important: “We all think we’re doing what we should be doing,” Sharon says. “But maybe there are things we just haven’t thought about.”

She hopes that by sharing her experience widely, she’ll encourage more women to know and beat their risks — especially those who believe heart disease couldn’t happen to them.