An all-female crew is preparing to leave Ireland to take on the Arctic to raise money for women’s heart health.
The expedition, which is raising crucial funds for the Irish Heart Foundation, will see participants travel 350km north of the Arctic Circle, complete a hauling trek across a frozen lake and sleep outdoors in temperatures of -20C.
They have already raised almost 100,000 euros (£83,000) and hope to increase awareness specifically of women’s heart health and poor mortality rates.
Judith Gilsenan of the Irish Heart Foundation is joining the all-female team for the charity’s week-long Arctic Challenge and says the team has signed up to shine a vital light on women’s heart health (Lisa Hughes/PA)
The crew will leave Dublin for Kilpisjärvi in Northern Finland on Thursday, and for some, it will be a deeply personal journey to highlight heart health after loved ones suffered serious cardiac issues.
Data shows that one in four women in Ireland dies from heart disease and stroke – six times the number who die from breast cancer.
But the national heart and stroke charity says that cardiovascular disease in women remains under-researched, under-diagnosed and under-treated.
The Irish Heart Foundation’s Commercial Director Judith Gilsenan is among those taking part in the challenge.
“These women are taking on this challenge to raise funds and awareness as part of our ‘Her Heart Matters’ campaign,” she said.
“They are doing it for the hearts that can’t and shining a vital light on women’s heart health, something which has been overlooked for too long.
“It will be extremely challenging and will push each participant to the limit.”
Another crew member, Lisa Byrne, 45, said she was motivated by a history of cardiac disease in her family.
“I read the statistics on the Irish Heart Foundation’s Her Heart Matters campaign as there is a history of cardiac disease in my family,” she said.
“My dad Liam, who is now 75, had a heart attack at 50 and was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at the same time.
“At the time, he was only five years older than I am now. It’s frightening.”
A pharmacist for more than 20 years, the Offaly native said work responsibilities have taken the focus off her own health.
But along with a recent decision to quit smoking, she sees the Arctic Challenge as a way of changing that.
Research commissioned by the Irish Heart Foundation last year showed that only half of women in Ireland recognise the symptoms of heart attack and stroke.
Dr Angie Brown, a consultant cardiologist and the charity’s medical director, said it is still not seen as a disease that affects women as much as it does.
“Society needs to confront this embedded myth that heart disease is a male disease,” she said.
“It is still not seen as a disease that affects women to the degree that it does.
“Women need to seek help earlier if they have any suspicion something might be wrong, advocate for themselves, recognise the signs and potentially save their own lives.”
The women can be supported in their fundraising efforts by donating here.