Women’s Cardiovascular Health Initiative (WCHI) is Canada’s first gender-specialized Cardiac Rehabilitation Program located at Women’s College Hospital (WCH). The program opened its doors in 1996 to provide cardiac rehabilitation and primary prevention for women. A multidisciplinary healthcare team offers comprehensive assessment and lifestyle counseling, education and support through individual and group sessions for women with cardiac conditions or those at high risk for heart disease.

An on-site exercise program is available for those participants who require medically supervised exercise training and will have an opportunity to meet graduate volunteers for peer support. Our goal is to help women recover from a heart attack, surgery, or help women living with a cardiac condition make healthy lifestyle changes, and provide support and self-management tools to live a heart-healthy life in their community. WCH is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto and conducts innovative research focused on women and heart disease.

The Ottawa Heart Support Group (OHSG) is an association of people many of whom have successfully recovered from a heart event and who wish to further improve the health and quality of life for themselves and their families. Our objective is to reduce the fear, anxiety, and emotional stress that often result from having a serious health problem. Our focus is on developing positive attitudes and practices wellness toward heart health care; enjoy life to the fullest; and supporting one another. We pursue these objectives at our informal, monthly meetings.

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.

Women@Heart lasts four months and consists of 10 two-hour sessions held weekly and bi-weekly in community settings across the region or virtually via the zoom platform. 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.

The Women@Heart In-patient Support Program is a peer-to-peer support opportunity in the hospital for women recently diagnosed with heart disease.

After being diagnosed with heart disease, many women experience feelings of isolation and depression. Being able to talk to someone ‘’who’s been there’’ can make a difference in emotional recovery. Through the Women@Heart in-patient Support Program, women can connect one-on-one with a Women @ Heart in-patient volunteer who can provide needed support at the bedside. This program is available in English, French, Arabic, Spanish and Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi.

Healthy Hearts Peterborough is designed and run by people with lived experience, to support graduates from Cardiac Rehab to stay motivated and apply the learnings to stay “on track”.

Patients and family members are encouraged to attend. Healthy Hearts Peterborough offers heart-healthy information online and in monthly meetings, securing expert presenters on developing a heart-healthy lifestyle. Completion of a Cardiac Rehab program is a prerequisite for acceptance into this program. Ask your doctor to refer you to Cardiac Rehab, if they haven’t already done that.

The Beat Retreat is a fun-filled, four-day weekend for adults living with congenital heart disease (CHD). You’ll have an opportunity to participate in a mix of traditional camp activities – all geared to your physical ability and comfort level.

Equally important, you’ll have an opportunity to make new friends and learn from the experiences of others living with CHD patients. In addition to an engaging educational component (guided by healthcare professionals), you’ll also have an opportunity to chat with healthcare professionals in a relaxed and informal setting. In short, it’s a weekend of fun, friends, firsts, and great food.

This group provides a safe, confidential and encouraging environment for those who have experienced a Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD). We do not provide medical advice but encourage sharing of information that survivors have gathered along the way from their doctors and cardiac specialists.

We offer a community of support and understanding with respect to survivor concerns, fears, and the complex nature of this condition.

The ICD Support Group of Manitoba was founded in 2007. Its mission is to provide support, education and the opportunity for ICD patients, candidates for an ICD, and their families and friends to interact in person with others in similar circumstances.

The group generally publishes a newsletter and meets twice each year, however, both have been temporarily suspended due to COVID-19. Each meeting includes time for refreshments and social interaction between guests. Family and friends are encouraged to attend as well. There is also a formal presentation component to each meeting and the topics are always pertinent to ICD patients and guests.

This group provides a safe, confidential and encouraging environment for those who have experienced a rare cardiac event known as Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD). We will not provide medical advice but will encourage sharing of information that survivors have gathered along the way from their doctors and cardiac specialists.

We offer a community of support and understanding with respect to survivor concerns, fears, and the complex nature of this condition. Although this is a Manitoba-based group in Winnipeg, SCAD survivors from across Canada are welcome.

This is an in-person group that meets approximately 4 times per year (suspended during COVID). Each meeting is a planned social event and incorporates an educational component as well.

Events are designed to provide opportunities for Heart failure patients to meet, interact, support and learn from each other in a safe understanding environment.

This is a support group for survivors of Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD), an under-diagnosed form of heart attack and sudden death. Its mission is to provide SCAD survivors a warm, supportive, positive, safe space to share experiences and stories. This Facebook group was created to connect one another – to share stories, struggles, and triumphs. It is not monitored by admin closely – but instead is meant for BC SCAD survivors and family to connect with each other.

SCAD BC’s mission is to provide SCAD survivors a warm, supportive, positive, safe space to share experiences, information and stories. Their main goal is to provide peer support and welcome women and men that have been diagnosed with SCAD. Led by peers who understand how isolating and frightening the diagnosis can be, the group shares what they have learned about SCAD, personal experiences, feelings, coping strategies, or firsthand information about SCAD. It consults with the staff at the Vancouver General Hospital, but SCAD BC is independent from any organization and is run entirely by group members.

Some benefits of reaching out to our group may include:

• Feeling less lonely, isolated or judged
• Reducing distress, depression, anxiety or fatigue
• Talking openly and honestly about your feelings
• Gaining a sense of empowerment, control or hope
• Improving understanding of SCAD and your own experience with it

Hearts of Gold gives opportunities for youth ages 13 to 19 to meet, learn, and have fun with other youth who have experienced growing up with heart disease. There are two Hearts of Gold groups, one in the Lower Mainland and one in Victoria.

Events are planned and supervised and help youth who are new to the group connect with new friends and become comfortable to ensure everyone has a great time. Youth must be able to manage without assistance for 3-4 hours to participate.

Heart to Heart Support Society is dedicated to the support and encouragement of persons who have suffered a heart attack. Learn about living a full life with heart disease. When you join you will meet people at the monthly meetings who have had, if not the same, very similar experiences to yours. The meetings will provide you with up-to-the-minute information that you will be able to use. Speakers cover topics like the benefits of exercise, nutrition, medications, and many other topics.

The group’s aims and objectives are:

• To offer encouragement and support to individuals with heart disease
  To assist their partners, families and friends
  To educate the public about the risks of heart disease
  To visit with patients while in hospital and after discharge to help them and their families cope with lifestyle changes

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.

Women@Heart lasts four months and consists of 10 two-hour sessions held weekly and bi-weekly in community settings across the region or virtually via the Zoom platform. 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.

Connect with others living with heart disease or stroke. If you have experienced a diagnosis or event, this online community is here to support you.

The Community of Survivors allows you to share stories, resources, tips and questions with others who have gone through similar experiences. This closed, moderated, bilingual space can provide social and emotional support in a safe, inclusive and respectful community.

HeartLife Foundation is Canada’s first – and only – national patient-led Heart Failure organization. We are a Federal Charity aimed at raising public awareness of Heart Failure, engaging patients, families, and caregivers to provide education and support, facilitating access to the latest research, innovations, and treatments, and advocating better care for all.

This is a closed group for patient and family carers only. HeartLife Foundation – the Patient Voice for Heart Failure in Canada – set up and manages this group so that people affected by heart failure can talk freely and share experiences in a safe environment with others who understand. Armed with great information, a positive attitude, friendly support and consistent encouragement we can all improve self-management, which can offer an improved quality of life and better patient outcomes.

This group is specific to Canadian SCAD survivors who want to build more personal, meaningful relationships with each other and to offer mutual support throughout our recovery period and beyond.

This group has been created to encourage and facilitate valuable face-to-face opportunities for SCAD survivors in Canada to get to know each other; ideally in real life post-COVID or via regular zoom calls. Admins are trained as peer leaders by the Canadian Women’s Heart Health Centre so we can support you as effectively as possible.

A casual, private Canadian women’s lifestyle group dedicated to the support and information sharing about living with heart health issues. While we focus on the positive, it is a safe place to vent & share about all elements of living with heart issues.

Because we are a lifestyle-based group, personal sharing of heart stories, kids (human and fur), gardens, exercise accomplishments, etc are all welcome. Inspirational quotes, sayings and photos are encouraged too. We focus on Canadian medical advancements, research, information but all relevant will be shared. Having medical heart issues changes our lives, having each other to lean on helps make it doable.