StrokeGoRed Raises $5M Funding for Enhancing Caring and Recovery Services for Women End

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A major step toward closing the gender gap in stroke care has been taken-with $5 million over five years for the StrokeGoRed project led by a team of researchers at Sunnybrook Research Institute. Funding comes from the Heart & Stroke Research Networks of Excellence in Women’s Heart and/or Brain Health, this time targeting improvement in diagnosis, treatment, and recovery for women with stroke. 

It’s a staggering stat: more than 30,000 Canadian women suffer a stroke every year, making it the number one cause of premature death for women in this country. And yet, in many ways, research and care for stroke still have holes. StrokeGoRed hopes to address those holes by concentrating the efforts on how a stroke affects women compared to men. A neurologist and senior scientist at Sunnybrook heads the initiative. 

It is home to people with lived experience, in its clinically diverse team of clinicians, researchers, computer and data scientists, engineers, statisticians, and educators. The work includes the investigation of areas such as sex differences in stroke diagnosis and treatment, which have historically been under-researched. Its findings can open avenues for more personalized stroke care and improve women’s heart and brain health. 

It will also lead to training and mentoring the next generation of stroke researchers and clinicians and pave the way for new innovations in stroke care for women. 

This is one of the most significant milestones and the first research network across Canada that deals with stroke in women, and can help transform care for thousands across the country.