Welcome to the Nanaimo Heart Sisters, a support group for women living on Central Vancouver Island, BC, who have experienced heart or stroke health issues.
Our group’s mission is to create a safe and supportive space for women of all ages who want to share their experiences about surviving heart disease or stroke incidents in their lives.
Did you know?
Heart disease and stroke are the #1 cause of premature death for women in Canada.
Heart disease and stroke claimed the lives of more than 32,200 women in Canada in 2019.
Every 17 minutes, a woman in Canada experiences a stroke. Out of a daily total of 85 women, 18 of them will die. In Canada, up to one-third more women die of stroke than men.
One-half of women who experience a heart attack have their symptoms go unrecognized.
Indigenous women have a 53 per cent higher death rate from coronary heart disease than non-Indigenous women.
Sources - from the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada:
Lives disrupted: The impact of stroke on women – 2018 Stroke Report
System failure: Healthcare inequities continue to leave women’s heart and brain health behind - 2023
NEWS ABOUT HEART DISEASE AND STROKE:
September 4, 2026 - This New Definition for Heart Attacks May Help More Women Get Diagnosed - Doctors applaud the change.
September 4, 2026 - 5 Heart Disease Myths You Shouldn’t Believe
September 3, 2026 - Gloria Steinem, trailblazing journalist and activist, dies at 92
September 3, 2026 -Later in life, Gloria Steinem found herself free of the 'demands of gender'
July 27, 2026 - I work in a hospital – and didn’t know I was having a heart attack. Here’s what more women should know
July 22, 2026 - One Common Condition Raises Heart Disease Risk for US Women, Study Finds
July 22, 2026 - New cardiac guidelines mean more statins for more people, study finds
Nanaimo Heart Sisters - Advocacy for a cardiac catheterization lab and patient tower to be built in Nanaimo
The Nanaimo Heart Sisters support the Fair Care Alliance, a coalition of concerned medical, healthcare, business and community professionals and citizens who are leading the advocacy efforts to ensure fair access to health care for the 490,000 people living north of Victoria, in Central and North Vancouver Island. Specifically, the Alliance is advocating for a cardiac catheterization lab and patient tower to be built at an expanded Nanaimo Regional General Hospital (NRGH).
Progress has been made throughout 2025 - 2026:
At a board meeting on December 9, 2025, the Nanaimo Regional Hospital District (NRHD) unanimously passed a motion stating it would cover all up-front construction costs for a cardiac catheterization lab so that it could be built immediately at NRGH. The proposed up-front financing would cover planning, construction, and equipping of a cath lab. For a detailed explanation of the motion, which was characterized as a loan to the BC provincial government, read this story in the Nanaimo News Bulletin: Nanaimo hospital district offering loan to expedite cardiac cath lab at NRGH
Then on March 19, 2026, the Nanaimo News Now reported that the BC government accepted the NRHD’s offer to front costs of concept and business planning for a cath lab at NRGH. For details, read this story: Cath lab planning commences after Nanaimo hospital district push pays off
More recently, the NRGH expansion was among the list of priorities expressed throughout B.C. for the upcoming 2027 provincial budget. Read this story for details: Not enough beds’ Nanaimo hospital expansion highlighted in provincial budget consultation report
In support of the Alliance’s efforts, the Nanaimo Heart Sisters submitted an opinion piece (an op-ed) to the Times Colonist newspaper calling for a cardiac catheterization lab to be built at NRGH. Published in the newspaper on Dec. 4, 2025, you can read the op-ed here.
We also submitted a Letter to the Editor to the Nanaimo News Bulletin on the need for a cardiac cath lab in Nanaimo which was published in the newspaper’s print edition on Dec. 31, 2025, and in the paper’s online edition on Jan. 3, 2026. You can read the letter here.
Upcoming event:
On Sept. 24, 2026 the Fair Care Alliance is hosting a public health forum at 5 p.m. in the Vancouver Island Conference Centre. The event will be a conversation about the future of healthcare on Vancouver Island, and community members are welcome to join in person, with limited seating available, or stream online. Get notified for this event by signing up here.
FROM THE HEART & STROKE FOUNDATION:
February 6, 2026 - Heart & Stroke report: New data provides big picture of heart and brain risk factors - Report also reveals that six million Canadians are now living with heart disease or stroke
January 5, 2026 - Sign up here for the monthly Healthline newsletter from the Heart and Stroke Foundation to receive healthy recipes, lifestyle tips and women’s health news
Heart & Stroke report: Winter 2026 Impact Report
Heart & Stroke report: Fall 2025 Impact Report
Stroke - “I am here for a reason.” Lynne’s Indigenous culture helped sustain her through a devastating stroke
Interesting links about how to prevent and manage heart disease and stroke:
Heart Sisters - For women living with heart disease, this website offers insight from the perspective of Carolyn Thomas, a Mayo Clinic-trained women's health advocate, heart attack survivor, blogger, author, speaker on the west coast of Canada
Mind Space - British Columbia - Skills for wellbeing, learning how to manage your mental health, and connect with community in a supportive space
Island Heart to Heart - All you need to know about cardiac rehabilitation
Feel Healthy with Dr. Scott Lear - Visit this blog written by a Vancouver-based professor at Simon Fraser University who conducts research into the prevention and management of heart disease focusing on supporting healthy lifestyles. Dr. Lear also holds the Pfizer/Heart and Stroke Foundation Chair in Cardiovascular Prevention Research at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, BC.
Latest Heart & Stroke research breakthroughs - Read about the work researchers are doing to beat heart failure and stroke
The impact of COVID-19 - Learn how the coronavirus has impacted people living with heart disease or stroke
Island Health - Heart Health Services - Find out about the Island Heath services for those living with cardiac disorders
The Nanaimo Heart Sisters meet on the third Saturday of every month. For information about time and location, contact Diane Shipclark at dshipclark@outlook.com