This week on Health Matters, as we continue to navigate the latest wave of the pandemic, we speak with our MUHC experts about rapid testing. Dr. Cedric Yansouni discusses essential tips for how to properly self-test for COVID-19. Dr. Greg Clark details the state of our emergency rooms during this latest wave. Jacques Filion discusses the significance of the integration of the Lachine Hospital Foundation with the MUHC Foundation. And, Nurse Wendy Wray, founder of the Women’s Healthy Heart Initiative, discusses how the pandemic is disproportionately impacting women.
Cette semaine à Question de santé, alors que nous continuons de surmonter une nouvelle vague de la pandémie, nous parlons avec nos experts du CUSM du dépistage rapide. Le Dr Cedric Yansouni donnera des conseils essentiels sur la façon d’effectuer correctement un dépistage COVID à la maison. Le Dr Greg Clark décrira ensuite en détails l’état de nos salles d’urgence au cours de cette dernière vague. Jacques Filion parlera de l’importance de l’intégration de la Fondation de l’Hôpital de Lachine avec la Fondation du CUSM. Enfin, l’infirmière Wendy Wray, fondatrice de l’Initiative pour la santé cardiaque des femmes, nous expliquera comment la pandémie touche les femmes de façon disproportionnée.
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This week on Health Matters, as we continue to navigate the latest wave of the pandemic, we speak with our MUHC experts about rapid testing. Dr. Cedric Yansouni discusses essential tips for how to properly self-test for COVID-19. Dr. Greg Clark details the state of our emergency rooms during this latest wave. Jacques Filion discusses the significance of the integration of the Lachine Hospital Foundation with the MUHC Foundation. And, Nurse Wendy Wray, founder of the Women’s Healthy Heart Initiative, discusses how the pandemic is disproportionately impacting women.
Cette semaine à Question de santé, alors que nous continuons de surmonter une nouvelle vague de la pandémie, nous parlons avec nos experts du CUSM du dépistage rapide. Le Dr Cedric Yansouni donnera des conseils essentiels sur la façon d’effectuer correctement un dépistage COVID à la maison. Le Dr Greg Clark décrira ensuite en détails l’état de nos salles d’urgence au cours de cette dernière vague. Jacques Filion parlera de l’importance de l’intégration de la Fondation de l’Hôpital de Lachine avec la Fondation du CUSM. Enfin, l’infirmière Wendy Wray, fondatrice de l’Initiative pour la santé cardiaque des femmes, nous expliquera comment la pandémie touche les femmes de façon disproportionnée.
Follow us on social media | Suivez-nous sur les médias sociaux
Facebook | Linkedin | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube
Hello there. Thank you for joining us. I'm Tarah Schwartz and this is Health Matters on CJAD 800. On today's show how are emergency rooms coping with the current state of COVID-19 in Quebec? We speak with a doctor on the frontlines. Plus, an important and exciting joining of forces to better serve our community, the Lachine Hospital Foundation is integrating with the McGill University Health Centre Foundation. Together, we are raising $5 million to fund equipment that is not part of the government's budget as the modernization of Lachine Hospital begins. But first, getting tested for COVID-19 remains a big concern. With the restrictions to accessing PCR tests and the delays in getting rapid tests, many of us have questions about the different kinds of tests that are available. Throughout the pandemic, the MUHC Foundation funded a number of studies about different types of testing for COVID-19, Dr. Cedric Yansouni led some of those studies. In one hand, a team of researchers used rapid antigen tests to provide intensified testing every three days in workplaces where at least two cases of COVID had been reported. Dr. Cedric Yansouni is a specialist in infectious diseases and medical microbiology at the McGill University Health Centre. He also serves as Associate Director of the JD MacLean Centre for Tropical Diseases. Dr. Yansouni, thank you so much for joining us.
Dr. Cedric Yansouni:Thanks Tarah. It's very nice to be here.
Tarah Schwartz:So we have been living with COVID-19 for nearly two years now. How has your job and research evolved over the last couple of years?
Dr. Cedric Yansouni:Early on, we were all focused on scrambling to prevent the sort of chaos that we were seeing across the Atlantic and needing to make a lot of game time decisions without specific knowledge of the virus we were facing. Fast forward two years, and things have changed a lot. Now we know a great deal about the virus and about the illness. And we have many more tools to diagnose and treat patients. So the job of an infectious disease specialist has really evolved to towards synthesizing the huge amount of information that's being generated, making guidelines and also selecting which treatments and tools are most appropriate for sick patients.
Tarah Schwartz:So as the virus changes and mutates, that changes the kinds of tests that are being developed?
Dr. Cedric Yansouni:We all feel like we're on a treadmill. Not just because of our daily lives, but also in the specific aspects of the virus itself. So as you say, every time there's a new variant, we have to go back to the drawing board and make sure- do the diagnostic tests work for this variant? Do the different treatment options that we have work for this new variant? And so there has been a lot of "back to the drawing board" every time we've gone through this.
Tarah Schwartz:Did Omicron cause the most problem with regards to that "back to the drawing board"?
Dr. Cedric Yansouni:Well, it's interesting, because on one hand, Omicron is the most different of the variants that have come up. So it differs in really important ways. And so, yes, there has been a lot of potential for problems. But at the same time, it's all happened so much faster than the previous waves. That yes, it has been a challenge to be able to not just figure out methodically what's going on, but get it done in time.
Tarah Schwartz:And how has that timing worked in terms of your colleagues, other infectious disease specialists? Is there ever enough time to do what you need to do?
Dr. Cedric Yansouni:Locally at the MUHC, but also more generally as a community in infectious diseases, we know the dance steps now. It's just a question of being able to get it done in a time frame that matters. And unfortunately, with Omicron, the whole world has been overwhelmed with the speed. It certainly would have been great if we had a few more weeks to mitigate the intensity of transmission that's going on now in the community and leading to a lot of hospital admission.
Tarah Schwartz:We are speaking with Dr. Cedric Yansouni, infectious disease specialist from the MUHC. We're talking about testing for COVID-19. Dr. Yansouni, we spoke in the summer when you discussed your antigen test research project. Can you remind us a little bit about that project?
Dr. Cedric Yansouni:We aimed at that time to see whether are deploying rapid antigen tests in a serial way. So doing them regularly every three days, among workers in businesses where there had been at least two cases of COVID would lead to decreased transmission among the workers that remained. The workers that were sick get sent home, but the rest of the business wants to stay open and needs to stay open. So we wanted to see, can we keep those people healthy by testing them regularly. The other important part of the project was to see when people do the tests themselves, do they actually perform them and interpret them accurately? Because there's really no information that's been published about that.
Tarah Schwartz:That's so interesting, because I think we all feel that way, especially now that we've been tasked with these rapid test kits. What did you discover about our people performing them well in general?
Dr. Cedric Yansouni:We were lucky to be able to be able to assess that question in a lot of detail. What we found was that, particularly when it comes to reading the test. When people use the instructions that are provided by the manufacturer, they really didn't do very well. What that means is they were pretty good at telling a negative test. But they missed a lot of weakly positive tests. In some cases, if it was weakly positive, the majority of people would say that, Oh, it's negative. Because we found that instructions don't put enough emphasis on how to read the test. So in the second part of the study, we generated modified instructions that were based on our observations. And when we deployed those- when we took the time to explain to people how they should read the test, we found that they dramatically improved the accuracy of how they read them. To a level that would be comparable to what you'd expect in a lab.
Tarah Schwartz:Okay, I was also wondering about the timing. Do people wait long enough? Because I know the negative test can sometimes come up very quickly. But correct me if I'm wrong, does the positive sometimes take a little bit longer to show up if you're looking at one of the rapid tests?
Dr. Cedric Yansouni:Well, absolutely. If there's one take home message from this interview, someone's driving or cooking or doing something else while listening to it, read the instructions of exactly how to do the test. It's really important. If the test says read it at 15 minutes, you need to read it at 15 minutes, not after, and not before. If you read it before, you might miss a positive. If you read it too late, you might get a falsely positive test, because the specimen can actually flow backwards. It's really important whatever tests you're using, read it at the moment. Use a timer and read it at the time where it says. The other really important thing when you're reading the test is use good lighting. If there's any band that you can see if you're if you're wondering if there's a band there, it's positive. And so good lighting, good timing using a timer. And the last thing I would say is that you really need to use the right amount of liquid. There's a little bit of liquid in a dropper that comes with the kit. It's essential to use the right amount, if you use too little, you'll get a false positive. If you use too much, you'll get a false negative. These things are studied and you really need to use them the amount that specified in the kit you're using.
Tarah Schwartz:I'm so glad that we had this conversation. We're speaking with Dr. Cedric Yansouni an infectious disease specialist from the MUHC and a really good take home message about reading the instructions incredibly clearly when you are doing a rapid COVID test. I think that's really excellent advice. I would love to get back to your study now. Dr. Yansouni, at what stage in this study are you now?
Dr. Cedric Yansouni:We have completed our study, and we actually presented our data on self-testing and the requirement for clear instructions to Health Canada. We've also worked with one of the larger manufacturers of rapid tests to resubmit an application to Health Canada to allow them to sell tests in a self-testing format. In formats of two to five tests instead of 30 tests and kits for self-testing. For that reason, you're going to see supplies improve a lot during the month of January, because manufacturers are going to be allowed to ship individually formatted tests into Canada in the millions.
Tarah Schwartz:One more question for you Dr. Yansouni. Once people do go back to working from offices, I don't think anyone expects this virus to disappear completely. How will your study and the impact of your study affect people going back to work and businesses that want to stay open during regular flu outbreaks?
Dr. Cedric Yansouni:Tarah, I've done a few interviews in the last couple of months, and the answer has changed so quickly because the situation has changed. But I would say that the restrictions on the availability of PCR testing that we're now experiencing, if you're symptomatic in the community, you no longer have access to PCR testing. And the fact that we're going to be living with some version of this virus for some time is going to really accentuate the role of self-testing with rapid tests at home. And so what we've done with the support of the MUHC Foundation is to establish the degree to which people are good at doing this. And I think that that's going to be very helpful. We've submitted for publication in a journal that is going to provide information on how to make sure that people are performing these tests as well as possible. And I think that it probably has ramifications for other infections as well. There are a number of infections for which self-testing has a role. We've seen approval this year in Canada of self-testing for HIV for people who want to know their status. And I think that there are other infections in the future for which testing using rapid tests, in the right scenario, is going to have a role. And I think that our study is perhaps a grain of sand in the mountain that will allow that to happen.
Tarah Schwartz:A wonderful place to end. Absolutely wonderful speaking with you, Dr. Cedric Yansouni, thanks so much for joining us on Health Matters. I really appreciate your time today.
Dr. Cedric Yansouni:It's a pleasure. Thank you.
Tarah Schwartz:Next up on Health Matters, two foundations are coming together to better support Lachine, Dorval and the entire Montreal community. I'm Tarah Schwartz. Welcome back to Health Matters on CJAD 800. We have really fantastic news to announce about an important coming together to better serve our community. The Lachine Hospital Foundation is integrating with the MUHC Foundation. Under one umbrella, we will work together to raise the $5 million needed to buy state-of-the-art equipment that doesn't fall under the provincial government's budget to modernize the hospital. Jacques Filion is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Lachine Hospital Foundation. He joins me now to discuss this wonderful joining of forces. Jacques, thank you so much for being with us.
Jacques Filion:Well, good morning.
Tarah Schwartz:Good morning. So how long have you been involved with the Lachine Hospital Foundation? It's been a while.
Jacques Filion:It's been a while! I joined the Board of Directors in 1994. I became Chairman in 1999. Now, the Foundation has existed since the mid-70s and I'm only the third Chairperson. The first was Pearl Harrington, from a well-known industrial family in Lachine. The second chair was Noel Spinelli, who is well-known in the greater Montreal community. And I'm only the third Chairperson.
Tarah Schwartz:Incredible. So how has health care philanthropy changed over that time? It's incredible that it goes all the way back to the 70s.
Jacques Filion:It has changed quite a bit and Lachine Hospital has changed a lot. Mostly in 2008 when it joined the MUHC. And since then, it's an integration process with the MUHC. And that's certainly the best thing that ever happened to Lachine Hospital.
Tarah Schwartz:Yeah, I think a lot of people don't realize that the Lachine Hospital is part of the umbrella of the McGill University Health Centre, right?
Jacques Filion:This is right, and let's not forget that the MUHC is a university hospital. So criteria are high and I think health care services can't be any better.
Tarah Schwartz:Absolutely. Why did you choose to get involved in a philanthropic organization like being the Chair of the Board of the Lachine Hospital Foundation?
Jacques Filion:I feel I'm privileged and it's important to give back. Now I'm retired, I had a nice career. It's so important and volunteer work is so important. Certainly those who don't really know what to do, there's always an organization waiting for you to act as a volunteer, and it's so important in our society.
Tarah Schwartz:Absolutely. What does it mean to be the Chair of the Board of a Hospital Foundation? What kind of roles and responsibilities does that include?
Jacques Filion:The number one role is obviously to raise money because there are demands from the hospital. Not all equipment is paid for by the government. The equipment that are not covered will be paid by the Foundation. I would say that more and more the government relies on foundations for that purpose. If we want to have a well-equipped hospital and a good environment, you need a strong foundation.
Tarah Schwartz:That's the kind of message we continuously try to drive home that the government only pays for so much, and foundations really do contribute an enormous amount to health care in general. We are speaking with Jacques Filion, Chair of the Board of the Lachine Hospital Foundation, and we're talking about a pretty exciting integration. The Lachine Hospital Foundation is integrating with the MUHC Foundation so that we can increase our impact. How significant is this joining of forces Jacques?
Jacques Filion:It is significant because now with a new construction that will start this spring at the hospital. We're talking about a $250 million project; the Lachine hospital will not be the same anymore. It's going to be a bigger hospital, certainly much more modern. And certainly, much better-equipped to serve the Lachine, Dorval community and all the communities around. For that purpose, the foundation will need to be stronger to raise more money and to be better-equipped. Times have changed a lot. We don't have all the expertise but the MUHC Foundation is a world-class organization. And that's why we're very happy to work together.
Tarah Schwartz:$5 million, that's our contribution to the Lachine hospital from this enormous project, this modernization project. Where will this money go? Where will this $5 million that we're raising together go?
Jacques Filion:We have a list of equipment already for that purpose. All the equipment that is related to the construction of the new six story wing. Equipment that will not be supplied by the government, but that are in big need for this new construction. It's going to be for mostly that equipment and bigger supplies. All of this to make sure that when it opens, it will be really in a position to serve the population as well as it can. But also we're talking about a $5 million target but the demands are higher. That's why we hope to beat this objective to be able to respond to all needs.
Tarah Schwartz:It really is a community hospital in Lachine. Tell us a little bit about the people who use the hospital and are devoted to this hospital.
Jacques Filion:It is a community hospital and it's important. Outside of Montreal, there are lots of community hospitals, obviously. And, of course, the community hospital, which is mostly first line and second line is so important in a community. When people have something, they know that the hospital is there, and is there to provide all services that are needed. It's almost a family hospital, you feel at home. Not necessarily that you want to go there. Obviously you don't want to go to the hospital. But when you do have to go, it's nice to feel in such an environment.
Tarah Schwartz:I was there just before the holidays for the first time, in my role as Communications Director of MUHC Foundation. I felt that way. I felt that all the staff that I met really felt extremely devoted to Lachine, it really felt like a family hospital. And I think anyone who's listening who's been to the hospital probably has noticed the same thing.
Jacques Filion:I'm sure they have. I think for everyone should support and have a good thought right now for all our hospital employees, staff, doctors, nurses, and all the people there. Because they're really living a rough time right now. It's very hard, very demanding on them. But they're really responding as well as they can and they're putting a lot into it. So a good thought for them!
Tarah Schwartz:We're speaking with Jacques Filion Chair of the Board of the Lachine Hospital Foundation, Jacques, it has been a long wait for the modernization of the Lachine hospital to begin, what excites you most about this project?
Jacques Filion:Well, actually, we saw the first plans, the architect plans two months ago. Just seeing them, almost brought a tear to many of our eyes because we've known the hospital the way it was. It was built in the 1930s-40s and now to see this large wing that will be there. It will become really a nice and modern hospital to service the community so well. So that really excites us just to see what it's look like. I just can't imagine how well people will be treated in this new environment, this new wing that will have the ER, all the surgery rooms, everything will be there. All in such a modern environment.
Tarah Schwartz:What can you tell our listeners Jacques about timelines, the start the project and the end of the project, what do you know about that?
Jacques Filion:The construction will start officially this spring. We're really looking forward to seeing the tractors and all of that to start the work. And it should last about four years before really the grand opening. Then while there will be a move from the older hospital to the newer wing for many departments. Then the older hospital will have some type of renovation as well to accommodate other services.
Tarah Schwartz:Final question for you Jacques, what do you love most about your position right now?
Jacques Filion:Well, it's a contribution. When we have a list of equipment that we need to purchase, and then we purchase this equipment, we see all the good that comes out from it. Hospital employees, doctors tell us how happy they are with the equipment that we've purchased with the help of the Foundation. But let's not forget, the Foundation is the people who give to the Foundation. It is just a way to flow through money to purchase all this equipment. It's all the donors that do so much for us and so much for the cause. I thank them very, very much. And then again, we still need you a lot.
Tarah Schwartz:Jacques Filion, thank you so much for joining us on Health Matters.
Jacques Filion:Well, thank you, Tarah and have a nice day. To all the listeners as well, thank you very much.
Tarah Schwartz:Thank you. And if you'd like to learn more about this integration and where that $5 million is going you can head to the Lachine Hospital Foundation website, or the MUHC Foundation website. Coming up on Health Matters, how are the emergency rooms at the MUHC coping with this current wave of the pandemic? I'm Tarah Schwartz, and this is Health Matters. The Omicron variant of COVID-19 has had a major impact on our health care system. We have seen COVID cases mount into the 1000s every day over the past several weeks. Our hospitals were already strained, and this new wave has added more pressure to our health care workers. How are the emergency rooms at the MUHC coping with this latest wave? Dr. Greg Clark is the Research Director at the Department of Emergency Medicine at the MUHC. Thank you so much for joining us, Dr. Clark.
Dr. Greg Clark:Thanks for having me.
Tarah Schwartz:So there are a few emergency rooms located at the Glen site. And it was a bit of a big question to start with. But how are people coping with the pandemic right now, the people who are on the frontlines at these emergency rooms?
Dr. Greg Clark:Well, it's a challenge. I think, like everyone, COVID has been tough on the emergency departments. Add to that in the fall, we all had that hope we were running our marathon and we're in the final legs of our marathon and then boom, Omicron hits. We realize we're an ultra-marathon, we're doing an extra-long marathon. So we were all discouraged. But the emergency department, the emergency department workers thrive on this. We're very resilient. And we know we have a job to do and we're keeping on doing it. And we look to the community what they have to do. And that's really getting vaccinated and getting the boosters when they can.
Tarah Schwartz:I want to get back to that idea that we did think that there was sort of a light at the end of the tunnel in the fall. And when Omicron hits and we see how much farther we have to go. How do workers, like yourself and the people who are working on the frontlines right now, how do they manage that extra sprint? What keeps them going?
Dr. Greg Clark:I think we have a very good team philosophy. And it's not there's one doctor, it's a whole emergency team. And I think we're here to support each other. And when one of our colleagues is sick, we help out and we make sure they have the support they need and we make sure that patients continue to get the care that they deserve.
Tarah Schwartz:ER numbers are in the media every day. I want to sort of put numbers aside now, what is the biggest challenge for people who are on the frontlines right now?
Dr. Greg Clark:I think the fatigue. We made the reference to a marathon but everybody's tired of COVID and we're tired and we want to get back to living a normal life. I think the fatigue and not being able to do the activities we used to do is really wearing on us but I think with this variant, we're going to be through it in a couple of weeks I hope and we'll get back to going to restaurants and going to theaters, visiting our families and not worrying about transmitting this horrible virus.
Tarah Schwartz:It's good that you feel that way. Because if you do, then there is room to be optimistic. Do you think in the next couple of weeks, couple of months, what are your thoughts on when this wave will have passed?
Dr. Greg Clark:Well, our predictions are indicating that the peak will be around January 22, which is around the corner. Now, it's around the corner but it seems like forever away. Once we peak, I hope and I think, that we'll have a rapid decline because everybody's catching it, unfortunately. And once everybody's caught it, they're not going to catch the Omicron variant again. So I think that's going to lead to respite hopefully opening restaurants, removing curfew and getting back to a little bit of normalcy.
Tarah Schwartz:And when you say peak, Dr. Clark, what is it exactly that you mean when you say it's going to peak?
Dr. Greg Clark:What we're looking from in the health care field is the peak of hospitalizations. In the media, we're hearing less about the number of new cases and more about the hospitalizations. We want to see that peak in hospitalization so it can come down. The hospitalizations are really the key elements of it because once our system is saturated, we have to find new ways to treat all the people that have COVID and the people that have the other disease processes that are still existing. The heart attacks and strokes and the acute abdominal pain and the appendicitis. So that's what we're looking for. We're hoping that the peak in hospitalization comes around the 22nd and then we can sort of get back to living our lives again.
Tarah Schwartz:We are speaking with Dr. Greg Clark, Research Director at the Department of Emergency Medicine at the MUHC and we're talking about ER rooms and how they're coping. Dr. Clark, for many people, the instinct is to go to the ER when they're sick or very sick. What is your advice to people before they do that, especially now?
Dr. Greg Clark:So the Emergency Room is always open. And I want people to remember, if you're having chest pains, stroke symptoms, or a difficult time breathing, or severe abdominal pain come to see us. But if you don't have those symptoms, there's a lot of resources out there. Now, if you have a primary care physician, we encourage you to contact them either with a teleconsultation or in-person consultation. Talk to your pharmacist, they often are able to help diagnose your problems and find the right cures. But also, let's not forget 8-1-1. It's a wonderful service that we have access to. So where a citizen can call, speak to a nurse and explain their symptoms and their past history and find out where the best place for them to go to get the care that they need.
Tarah Schwartz:Do you think that there are misconceptions about how the emergency room operates in general, and now during a pandemic?
Dr. Greg Clark:Well, I think that misconceptions, one of the things that's frustrating and understandably so, is wait times to see a physician. In Quebec, we have a tough time with this and especially now with COVID. I think people need to know that emergency physicians and emergency team want to see people quickly and want to be able to have them go home with the right diagnosis as quickly as possible. But there's factors outside the emergency department that are leading to delays. Access blocked when the hospitals filled, the buffer zone is the emergency department and if there's admitted patients in the emergency department, we have less room to see new patients. Add to that we have to isolate our vulnerable patients. The MUHC is a centre of excellence for transplant patients, cancer patients, HIV patients, we have to protect them from the COVID patient. So that means these patients may be put in a room and kept their longer than would have happened in non-COVID times.
Tarah Schwartz:Okay, I want to get back to the numbers now just a little bit. We know that they're incredibly high. And I think that people who are watching those numbers feel discouraged, do you get discouraged?
Dr. Greg Clark:I think discouraged is not the right term. I think concern is what we have to feel. If we're discouraged, we're not going to get through this. We have to maintain hope that you know people are going to do what they have to do. We know that people with their second dose of the vaccine are less likely to get very sick from this disease. And I personally have not seen anybody with their booster dose get admitted for COVID. So I think the vaccines are progressing and the numbers are showing that people are coming in for the first dose. I think we have to forget all of the rhetoric and stuff that the politicians and people have spread and get back to the fact we have to support ourselves. We can support our community by getting vaccinated. I think that would be my key message.
Tarah Schwartz:I think that's a good message to offer up. What is it like Dr. Clark, to work as the Research Director in the Department of Emergency Medicine during a pandemic?
Dr. Greg Clark:It's obviously challenging. Like everybody, we have challenges, work by distance and things like that. But I'm also super proud of our researchers. Despite the limitations of increased workloads, and not being able to be in person sometimes, we still accomplish great research and we're still producing top-quality research and collaborating with other researchers across Canada. I'm very proud of it. And it comes back to the resilience because the emergency department people are resilient. We're a bit down right now. But we're not out. We're going to continue to work hard to ensure that we continue to do excellent care for our patients and provide research that's going to help us find cures for things like COVID, or help us better treat these patients.
Tarah Schwartz:We're speaking with Dr. Greg Clark, Research Director at the Department of Emergency Medicine at the MUHC. So let's talk about these research projects. And perhaps you can explain because people might not associate the ER with research.
Dr. Greg Clark:Some of the projects that we have since we're talking about COVID, we're involved with the Canadian COVID Emergency Department Rapid Response Network, which is a group of 50 hospitals across Canada gathering data on COVID patients. It's so that we can better understand the disease process, response to vaccines, and develop tools to help our physicians or help these patients. We're also working with a new project to validate the Canadian Syncope tool. So when a patient shows up with a loss of consciousness in our emergency department, if we can apply this tool, we can have these patients not linger in the hospital, get the care they need quicker and the investigations like that. We're working on different projects like that and we also have a big interest in figuring out how we're going to use machine learning and artificial intelligence to help support our physicians and our nurses in caring for our Emergency Department patients.
Tarah Schwartz:A lot of incredibly exciting projects, Dr. Greg Clark, I want to thank you so much for your time for joining us on Health Matters today. Thank you so much.
Dr. Greg Clark:Thanks for having me.
Tarah Schwartz:Next up on Health Matters, how and why has the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately impacted women? I'm Tarah Schwartz, you're listening to Health Matters. This pandemic has affected all of us in so many ways, our physical health, our mental health, jobs, families and children. But one group that has been disproportionately impacted is women. I'm really eager to talk to you about this because this took me a little bit by surprise how and why women are being affected by this pandemic. Leading up to Heart Health Month, which is in February, it's important to take stock of your own health. Nurse Wendy Wray is the founder of the Women's Healthy Heart Initiative at the MUHC. It's the first nurse led clinic designed to prevent heart disease and educate women on their risks. Wendy, thank you so much for being with us today.
Nurse Wendy Wray:Thank you for having us having me, Tarah.
Tarah Schwartz:So Wendy, let's jump right in what are some of the ways that COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted women?
Nurse Wendy Wray:The main ways that this pandemic has infected affected us is both from a home and a work responsibility point of view. For instance, our kids are doing home learning. They're at home when they're normally at school, our partners or husbands are probably working from home as well. We might be working from home, or having go out of our homes, and then coming back and taking on those added home responsibilities. We have less privacy for ourselves and less time to take care of ourselves and take care of our health.
Tarah Schwartz:I thought that was interesting because self-care has become a bit of a buzzword lately. But I think it's true, that less time for personal care for oneself does have an impact on our health.
Nurse Wendy Wray:It actually does. Because we know that things are so busy in our lives that unless we take that time, carve that time out for ourselves to take care of ourselves. It's not going to happen. And it has to be a priority. And very often, we as women are not that good at making ourselves a priority.
Tarah Schwartz:One of the other things that we had discussed when you and I had talked about this was the impact of the loss of a social circle and how that can also have an impact mostly on women.
Nurse Wendy Wray:Very much so. Women typically have a very strong support network with other women. We chat with other women and during that time, we're exchanging information, we're commiserating, we're supporting each other by sharing our experiences. And as women we gained so much information and validation from these discussions and with the pandemic, as you said Tarah, we are missing that.
Tarah Schwartz:When we factor in, kids at home, more stress, partners at home, less exercise, loss of social circle, less time for self-care, how does all of that impact our actual health and our hearts?
Nurse Wendy Wray:Anxiety and stress, we don't talk enough about that. But it has a large effect on our overall health. We don't sleep as well, we're not exercising, we're not burning energy, which gets stress off. Sometimes we don't recognize we're stressed. We're so busy being in the moment and doing what we have to do. It tends to increase our blood pressure, increase our heart rate. As I said, we don't tend to sleep as well. And we begin to percolate and so anxiety and stress are very powerful.
Tarah Schwartz:We are speaking to nurse Wendy Wray; we're talking about the impact of COVID-19 on women. And we're also talking about heart disease in women leading up to Heart Health Month. So what are some of the things that women should be paying attention to, Wendy, if they are experiencing higher than normal stress or anxiety levels?
Nurse Wendy Wray:I think the first thing is to recognize that we are stressed and sometimes we're more aware of it than not. And the second thing is, is to listen to our bodies. For instance, a panic attack- the symptoms can be very similar to a heart attack. And once again, with a pandemic, women and men are more concerned about coming into the emergency room because they don't want to be exposed and they're afraid of getting COVID. We should not ignore our body, listen to our body. If we are having symptoms, go and get checked out or call and seek some medical attention. Don't ignore those symptoms.
Tarah Schwartz:So let's talk about the particular signs of heart disease and what not to ignore.
Nurse Wendy Wray:Things that we shouldn't ignore, because we know that symptoms for women having a heart attack can be different for men, but it still is typically a chest discomfort. So burning, heaviness, tightness, pressure or squeezing in our chest, with shortness of breath, feeling extremely fatigued, breaking into a sweat and generally feeling unwell. And the messages, yes, some of those symptoms we can feel for other reasons. But these will tend to come together and the message is- do not ignore them. Have it checked out. There's no harm in having a checked out even if it turns out that it's not your heart. That's okay. At least you know it is. But it just might be an it might be one of the luckiest days of your life.
Tarah Schwartz:We're speaking with Wendy Wray, who is a nurse at the MUHC and the lead of the Women's Healthy Heart Initiative. When is it time to consult a health care professional, Wendy, if you are feeling overwhelmed? I want to talk specifically about women here, because a lot of women don't think that they are candidates for heart attacks,
Nurse Wendy Wray:That's very true. And that's why our project isn't that correct? and talking to you and getting the message out is so important. Because even in 2021, women are under-aware of the risk of heart disease, and therefore they're under-diagnosed and under-treated. And we don't tend to do as well. I think the key again, is to not ignore symptoms, in that this discomfort in your chest, you're probably going to say, oh, it's probably my tummy. It's something that I ate last night, that I shouldn't have eaten. And we're going to tend to pardon expression blow it off. But we should not be doing that pay attention to these symptoms, and do consult a healthcare professional about them.
Tarah Schwartz:Wendy, do you have any numbers that you can offer up in terms of women and heart disease?
Nurse Wendy Wray:One in three women die of heart disease or stroke.
Tarah Schwartz:Wow.
Nurse Wendy Wray:And another number, heart disease is largely preventable. 80% of heart disease is preventable. And it's preventable through basically lifestyle. And that is a regular physical activity, watching our weight, eating well. Basically, as we were talking about before, taking care of ourselves.
Tarah Schwartz:So leading up to Heart Health Month, you speak so passionately about the fact that heart disease can be prevented, we just touched upon it. I want to give you the opportunity here to share that message that you have spent so much of your career and so much of your life, helping women and getting that message out. So what do we need to know about heart disease and being able to prevent it?
Nurse Wendy Wray:As we just mentioned, women need to know that more women will die of heart disease or stroke than breast cancer or ovarian cancers and cancers combined. And this is something we don't hear enough about. That's a large part of our message is that a woman doesn't know to look for symptoms that we just discussed- the chest discomfort, shortness of breath, feeling unwell, fatigue, and also the fact that through lifestyle, she can largely prevent that disease. If women aren't aware of those two facts actually, how are we supposed to take control of our health and keep ourselves well or seek medical attention when we should be doing it?
Tarah Schwartz:I also think it's important to mention age because I was talking to a woman as we prepare for Heart Health Month, who had her first heart attack at 42.
Nurse Wendy Wray:Yes. In actuality, there was a study review that was released just last year. It shows that for a few years, we were actually from a woman's point of view, decreasing heart disease. But since 2015-2017, in North America, it is going back up-especially in younger women. So we need to get the message out to 40 and 50 year-old women that yes, heart disease can affect you. The average age of a heart attack for women is 71. But that doesn't mean that women in her 40s cannot have a heart attack as well. So we need women to know that and be aware of that.
Tarah Schwartz:And we will continue to drive that message home over the next four or five weeks. Wendy Wray, I want to thank you so much for joining us on Health Matters. It's always such a pleasure to speak with you.
Nurse Wendy Wray:Thank you for having me.
Tarah Schwartz:I'm Tarah Schwartz. Thank you for tuning in. What would you like to hear about on the show? Write to me at health matters at MUHC foundation dot com. You can also follow us on social media or sign up for our newsletter also by heading to MUHC foundation dot com. Thanks so much for listening to Health Matters and stay healthy.