A new Canada-wide research network will examine why women often face barriers to rehabilitation after strokes, heart attacks and cardiac arrest, with a focus on menopause, mental health and unequal access to care.
Five-Year Network to Redesign Women’s Rehabilitation
Heart & Stroke, in partnership with Brain Canada, is investing $5 million over five years in the Redesigning Effective aNd Equitable Systems of Care for Women’s Heart-Brain Recovery Network, known as RENEW.
The network is led by Jodi Edwards of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and the Bruyère Health Research Institute.
RENEW will bring together researchers, clinicians, health-system leaders and people with lived experience from across Canada. Its goal is to improve rehabilitation and long-term recovery following what Heart & Stroke describes as “heart-brain events,” including strokes, heart attacks and cardiac arrest.
Women Face Unequal Access to Recovery Programs
According to Heart & Stroke, women recovering from these medical emergencies often wait longer for rehabilitation, receive referrals at lower rates and participate in recovery programs less frequently than men.
Existing rehabilitation systems may also fail to adequately account for sex-specific health factors, such as menopause and hormonal changes.
Women’s recovery can be further affected by geography, income, ethnicity, disability, mental health and caregiving responsibilities. These factors can create additional barriers, particularly for women living in rural, remote and underserved Canadian communities.
RENEW plans to address these gaps through a whole-person model that considers the physiological, psychological, emotional, social and environmental aspects of recovery.
Heart & Stroke chief executive officer Doug Roth said the RENEW Network addresses “inequities in rehabilitation and recovery.”
He said the initiative brings together experts and patients from across the country to “generate evidence and solutions” that can improve recovery for women nationwide.
Menopause and Mental Health Among Research Priorities
Hormonal Changes and Recovery
The network will study how menopause, hormonal changes and hormone therapy may affect recovery after a heart attack or stroke.
Researchers will examine whether these biological factors influence symptoms, rehabilitation needs and long-term health outcomes. The findings could help health-care providers develop more individualized recovery plans for women at different stages of life.
New Mental Health Screening Tools
RENEW also plans to create sex- and gender-sensitive mental health screening tools for women recovering from heart and brain emergencies.
This work will include an Indigenous-specific screening tool co-developed with Indigenous partners. The collaborative approach is intended to ensure the tool reflects Indigenous knowledge, experiences and community priorities.
Researchers will also test new rehabilitation and mental health interventions. National health data will be used to map referral pathways connecting cardiac rehabilitation, stroke rehabilitation and mental health services.
These efforts could help identify where women are being lost within the health-care system and where coordination between services needs to improve.
Research Extends Beyond Emergency Treatment
Brain Canada president and chief executive officer Viviane Poupon said the effects of a heart-brain event can influence a person’s health “for years to come.”
She said supporting Edwards and the RENEW Network will help close “a critical gap in the research continuum” by extending women’s brain-health research into rehabilitation, recovery and ongoing care.
The initiative reflects a growing recognition that survival is only one part of the health-care journey. Access to appropriate rehabilitation can affect independence, mental health, quality of life and the risk of future medical complications.
Third National Network Focused on Women’s Health
RENEW is the third Research Network of Excellence in Women’s Heart and/or Brain Health funded by Heart & Stroke and its partners.
Previous recipients include Rohan D’Souza of McMaster University, who leads the Canadian Network of Networks to Reduce Cardiovascular Mortality and Morbidity in Pregnancy.
Amy Yu of the Sunnybrook Research Institute and the University of Toronto leads another funded initiative, StrokeGoRed, which focuses on improving stroke research and care for women.
Heart & Stroke and the Canada Brain Research Fund financed the RENEW Network. Over the next five years, its findings are expected to support more equitable, coordinated and personalized rehabilitation for women recovering from heart attacks, strokes and cardiac arrest across Canada.
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