Heart Failure Awareness Week English Webinar 2026, presented by Heart & Stroke and HeartLife Foundation
📅 May 5, 2026
🕛 9 AM PT – 10 AM MT – 11 AM CT – 12 PM ET – 1 PM AT
Heart failure is a growing health challenge in Canada, with over 800,000 people are currently living with the condition, and more than 130,000 new diagnoses each year. Heart failure places a significant burden on individuals, families, caregivers, and the healthcare system, and is the third leading cause of hospitalization in the country.
Aligned with Heart Failure Awareness Week (May 3rd–9th, 2026), this webinar—Bridging Heart Failure Care, will provide healthcare providers, people with lived experience, and caregivers with essential knowledge to recognize heart failure signs and symptoms, understand key risk factors, and appreciate how heart failure interacts with other conditions.
Participants will also receive a practical overview of the role of guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT), including how evidence-based medications improve survival, reduce hospitalizations, and enhance quality of life. The presentation will highlight ongoing efforts across Canada to bridge unified heart failure care and bring awareness for those living with this increasingly common condition.
Learning Objectives
- Enhance Awareness of Heart Failure Signs and Symptoms: Equip healthcare professionals, people with lived experience (PWLE), and caregivers with the ability to recognize early and advanced signs and symptoms of heart failure. This objective focuses on building confidence to identify changes promptly and take appropriate action to prevent hospitalizations.
- Address Risk Factors of Heart Failure: Provide participants with a clear understanding of the major modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors for heart failure and how proactive management and monitoring can reduce heart failure risk and improve outcomes.
- Understand the Connection Between Heart Failure and Other Conditions: Help participants recognize how heart failure is interconnected with other chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and kidney disease. This objective emphasizes how these conditions interact, how they influence symptoms, and why integrated, team-based care is essential for people living with multiple health challenges.
- Understand the Role of Guideline-Directed Medical Therapy (GDMT): Increase awareness of the importance of guideline-directed medical therapy in heart failure care. Participants will understand how GDMT supports improved survival and quality of life, and how new heart failure guidelines assist both clinicians and people with lived experience in making informed, evidence-based treatment decisions.
Intended Audience
Health professionals across the continuum of care, people with lived experience of heart disease, VCI, stroke, or other vascular conditions such as heart failure, atrial fibrillation or hypertension, family members and care supporters of people with lived experience. Heart & Stroke staff, members of the public, and system leaders may also find this webinar informative and helpful. All are welcome to join.
This free event is an open invitation and may be forwarded to interested parties.
Language
This webinar topic will be presented in both English and French, on separate dates. If you would like to attend the webinar in French, please register using the link provided in the French invitation above.
Can't make it to the live webinar?
A recording of this webinar and all our previous webinars are available on our YouTube webinars page and the Canadian Stroke Best Practices website, 1-2 weeks after the live webinar.
For any questions, please e-mail KTHP@heartandstroke.ca
