heart-and-stroke-picCanadians need to speak more to their doctors about their family history of heart disease.

A survey conducted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation found that 51 per cent of Canadians know they have a history of heart disease or stroke in their family yet  34 per cent haven’t visited a doctor and discussed the risks.

One person who didn’t was North Bay’s Mike Parr. 

He says his mother died of a heart attack and his sister developed heart disease.

He says he was in perfect health until age 50 and then things changed.

The heart transplant recipient was asked what difference it would have made if he did talk to his doctor about his family’s history. 

Parr says doctors could have taken some measures  to slow down the progression of heart disease and the degeneration of the heart. 

Infact, he says everyone in the family could have benefitted because everyones risks were higher because there was a family history of heart disease.