A new clinical research chair will help further women’s heart health care in Manitoba, the St. Boniface Hospital Foundation announced Monday
Dr. Shelley Zieroth will serve as the Heart & Stroke, St. Boniface Hospital Foundation, and Research Manitoba clinical research chair in women’s heart health
“Her leadership will help accelerate discoveries that improve cardiac outcomes for women and have a lasting impact – not only here in Manitoba, but beyond,” Karen Fowler, president and CEO at the St. Boniface Hospital Foundation, told reporters
She described Zieroth as “a champion for women’s heart care.” The doctor’s research focus includes heart failure and cardio-kidney-metabolic interactions, according to the hospital foundation
The doctor has worked at the St. Boniface Hospital since 2006, Zieroth said at an event celebrating her new position
“As a clinician-scientist, I am able to bridge the worlds of bedside care, clinical trials and translational science. Together, with my many colleagues at St. Boniface Hospital, we have begun to build the foundation for a truly integrated women’s heart health research initiative here in Manitoba,” she said
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Her new role, Zieroth said, allows her to take this work “to a new level” and protect women from one of the leading causes of premature death
“Two-thirds of clinical research in cardiovascular disease, thus far, has focused on men. It’s time to change that and focus on women’s hearts, and not only about the physiology, but also how we deliver that care and how we follow evidence-based care to improve their heart outcomes,” she said
The newly created position comes with research funding. Zieroth said she hopes to use those funds, as well as grants, to unify and further this work at the hospital
“My vision for this chair is to build a women’s heart care clinic and research initiative at St. Boniface as a shared institutional platform,” she continued, noting the years-long plan she and her team will follow as they further equity in health care
“This chair is, above all, a promise that we will do better for women’s hearts.”
Nicole Aminot, the hospital’s CEO, said the new position will help advance research in women’s heart health, a topic she described as “underrepresented.”
“It’s so important to know that the signs of a heart attack are different in women and to recognize that women’s hearts need to be viewed through a different scientific lens,” Aminot said
The Public Health Agency of Canada website says women tend to experience shortness of breath, upper back pressure, nausea and lightheadedness during a heart attack, with some reporting a lack of chest pain. Men, however, tend to suffer from symptoms including paleness, sweating or weakness, as well as anxiety during a heart attack
