The PCNA aims to increase public and political awareness about the critical role of nurses in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Professor Monica Parry has been named a Fellow of the Preventative Cardiovascular Nurses Association (PCNA), recognizing her leadership and volunteer service to the organization in addition to her contributions in the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease on a global scale.
“Being recognized among peers and leaders in the field of cardiovascular research is an honour and draws attention to the impact that cardiovascular nurses can have on managing the global burden of cardiovascular disease,” says Parry, who is also a Fellow in the Canadian and American Academies of Nursing and the American Heart Association.
Founded in 1992, the PCNA aims to increase public and political awareness about the critical role of nurses in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. This also includes promoting community education and supporting the dissemination of nurse-led research and evidence-based practices in cardiovascular disease management.
For years, Parry’s research has focused on the global burden of cardiovascular disease and since 2015 has aligned with four of the seventeen UN Sustainable Development Goals: gender equality, good health and well-being, reducing inequalities, and partnerships for the goals. Her research also aligns with the Lancet Commission’s recommendation to reduce the global burden of cardiovascular disease in women by 2030.
Parry is currently a co-investigator with the Women’s Cardiovascular Health Hub – A Pan-Canadian Collaborative Network aimed to Improve Women’s Cardiovascular Health. Some of her previous research has included the development of digital tools like at heart, a progressive web app designed to help women recognize and self-manage their cardiac symptoms. Parry is currently leading projects focused on peer support interventions for women with cardiovascular disease and unpaid caregiving, a role that contributes to increased risk for cardiovascular disease.
In many high-income countries cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of premature death for women – 78% of women miss the early signs of a heart attack.
“Women with cardiac pain and cardiac symptoms are under-diagnosed and under-treated,” says Parry. “For women, heart disease has impacts across the life course, influenced by unique risk factors that include pregnancy and menopause which is why I continue to be focused on improving health and well-being for women living with heart disease worldwide.”