heart disease in indigenous communities: a lack of understanding

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first nations people are three times more likely to experience heart and vascular issues despite readily available information about prevention and symptoms that has decreased risk across much of the country.

by dave yasvinski

published mar 27, 2023

last updated apr 16, 2025

3 minute read

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3 minute read

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heart disease in indigenous communities: a lack of understanding

the early warning signs of heart disease: an indigenous research creation project is recruiting indigenous men and women with heart disease. getty

a team of researchers at brock university is doing its best to ensure the hearts of canada’s indigenous communities stay as strong and steady as medically possible.

first nations people are three times more likely to experience heart and vascular issues than their non-indigenous counterparts despite the presence of readily available information that has decreased this risk across much of the country. without an awareness of the classic symptoms of a heart attack — and the steps that can be taken to prevent one from happening — they can difficult to avoid.

“we need to educate our people on heart disease because it is pretty rampant in indigenous communities,” michelle bomberry, a research assistant in the heart innovation research program and current phd student at brock university, told the brock news. “with all the literature and educational resources out there, something is still missing. we’re trying to find out how to get the message across — it’s a paradigm shift that we need to do with our entire community.”

with funding from the university and help from sheila o’keefe-mccarthy, an associate nursing professor, bomberry, who is haudenosaunee, is working with six nations to develop new resources that are rooted in indigenous ways of knowing. the project, called early warning signs of heart disease: an indigenous research creation, is recruiting indigenous men and women over the age of 18 who have been diagnosed with heart disease to help them more adequately describe the warning signs to its audience.

“sometimes clinicians’ words are not sufficient and not the words used by an indigenous person experiencing symptoms related to cardiac pain,” o’keefe-mccarthy said. “it’s important for people to help us understand what their experiences are like and help us ask questions that we don’t know that we need to ask because it’s not our information, it’s theirs to share.”

the educational materials created by the project will be arts-based and incorporate a wide range of mediums, including painting, poetry, sculpting, drumming and dance, as well as the more standard written word. these materials will help convey, among other things, the symptoms that can accompany a heart attack, including pain or discomfort in the chest, arm, jaw back or shoulder, in addition to fatigue, shortness of breath and a tingling in the arms or hands.

it was important to researchers to build a knowledge base that combined western science with indigenous ways of knowing. “our research project is going to be an example of how the community is working with the university to hear the truths of indigenous peoples and have community develop the promotional and educational ways to communicate this indigenous heart-health knowledge,” bomberry said.

the work also contributes to o’keefe-mccarthy’s long history of educating the public about the risks of heart disease and using art to better understand the experience. “the arts-based approach bridges the art-science divide so that people can recognize the information in a way that’s meaningful to them,” she said.

with first nations people more likely to experience a heart attack, heart-related disability, angina and death than non-indigenous people, the project couldn’t come at a better time. “this is why this research is so important,” o’keefe-mccarthy said. “the knowledge gained in our conversations with indigenous people who have experienced heart disease is vital to create educational materials that connect with an indigenous way of knowing, doing and being.”

dave yasvinski is a writer with healthing.ca

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