Publications by authors named "Christine A Gonsalves"

Women vs men have major differences in terms of risk-factor profiles, social and environmental factors, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of cardiovascular disease. Women are more likely than men to experience health issues that are complex and multifactorial, often relating to disparities in access to care, risk-factor prevalence, sex-based biological differences, gender-related factors, and sociocultural factors. Furthermore, awareness of the intersectional nature and relationship of sociocultural determinants of health, including sex and gender factors, that influence access to care and health outcomes for women with cardiovascular disease remains elusive.

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This chapter summarizes the sex- and gender-specific diagnosis and treatment of acute/unstable presentations and nacute/stable presentations of cardiovascular disease in women. Guidelines, scientific statements, systematic reviews/meta-analyses, and primary research studies related to diagnosis and treatment of coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease (stroke), valvular heart disease, and heart failure in women were reviewed. The evidence is summarized as a narrative, and when available, sex- and gender-specific practice and research recommendations are provided.

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Background: This Atlas chapter summarizes the epidemiology of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women in Canada, discusses sex and gender disparities, and examines the intersectionality between sex and other factors that play a prominent role in CVD outcomes in women, including gender, indigenous identity, ethnic variation, disability, and socioeconomic status.

Methods: CVD is the leading cause of premature death in Canadian women. Coronary artery disease, including myocardial infarction, and followed by stroke, accounts for the majority of CVD-related deaths in Canadian women.

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The purpose of this study was to explore how the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and Canadian Twitter users linked women's experiences and health identities with the #MoreMoments cardiovascular disease awareness campaign. Critical discourse analysis of Twitter data between September 2017 and November 2017 identified two primary discourses (tragedy and loss, and life and health) and two identity/subject positions (visionary leaders and successful survivors). Responsibility for women's health was attributed to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, also limiting neo-liberal healthism and risk identification.

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Women's cardiovascular disease portrayals were explored on Facebook by the US non-profit organization Women's Heart Alliance and public users in February 2017. Portrayals were explored using critical discourse analysis which also identified subject positions. Women's cardiovascular disease was constructed within two central discourses: achieving health equity and healthism, with the following subject positions: altruistic fighters, health activists, and compliant patients and consumers.

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The aim of this study was to explore the meanings of women's cardiovascular disease constructed within the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation Facebook page. Posts from Heart and Stroke Foundation and public user comments surrounding the launch of the Heart and Stroke Foundation re-branding were of interest. Ethnographic content analysis was employed to analyse text ( = 40), images ( = 32), videos ( = 6), user comments and replies ( = 42) from November 2016 to March 2017.

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Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death and disability among women worldwide. Narratives circulated by the media regarding women's identities and health constitute one source of meanings by which conceptualisations about risk, risk reduction, and disease prevention are formed and framed. An interpretive and integrative meta-synthesis of qualitative research was done to examine the representations of women's cardiovascular disease in traditional and user-generated Canadian and US media narratives, and explore the implications of these for gendered identities and health promotion for women.

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