Heart Niagara wants to hear from you
Niagara students as young as those in Grade 5 are showing potential risk factors for heart disease.
To reduce the rate of heart disease, Heart Niagara has partnered with SickKids Hospital in Toronto for a research study focused on heart disease prevention.
Between September 2014 and June 2016, more than 2,000 Grade 9 students across the region participated in cholesterol screening through Heart Niagara’s Healthy Hearts Schools program.
Families of students who were identified as having high levels of HDL or bad cholesterol were notified of the test results as was their family physician.
As part of the ongoing research study, Heart Niagara wants to hear from families about their experiences after the test.
“We want to know if any followup was done and where did that followup take them,” said Don Gibson, a nurse practitioner with Heart Niagara.
“Was there a change in their lifestyle? Were there changes to their diet and exercise. Did a student or parent require further followups with specialists?”
Dr. Stafford Dobbin, Heart Niagara’s medical director, said hardening of the arteries can begin before the age of 10 if a family has a history of heart problems.
The Heart Niagara school program is typically the first time a child has their cholesterol tested and the result can often lead to a parent following suit.
“For many people, it’s the only way a family will know if they might be at a high risk for a heart attack,” Dobbin explained. “Parents can end up on treatment because we identified their child as being at risk.”
Dobbin said research is the key to creating programs that address early intervention of potential problems.
“We don’t really spend a lot of time and resources to identify who’s at risk of heart disease,” he said. “But, we spend a lot of money identifying people at risk for cancers.”
“More and more men, and women, will end up with heart disease than will end up with cancer. If you’re going to prevent heart disease, you really should be starting in adolescence, not doing stress tests on people in their 40s and 50s. By that time, they’ve probably got two or three arteries blocked.”
Participants are responding to the followup surveys and Heart Niagara is urging all families who received the letter to provide their input so the information can be included in the study.
Results from the survey will assist in the design of future projects that can help raise awareness of issues regarding early identification of cholesterol levels in children.
“Results demonstrate that earlier intervention is a key factor to support adolescents and families in making positive lifestyle choices,” said Karen Stearne, Heart Niagara’s executive director.
The results of the study will be distributed to families and to the primary care practitioners through newsletters and online resources. Heart Niagara and SickKids will also publish the results in relevant scientific journals and academic conferences.
Heart Niagara delivers programs in more than 150 schools across the region, reaching more than 6,000 families annually in the Heart Niagara Healthy Heart Schools program.