Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, February sees many Canadians celebrate Valentine's Day, expressing their love to friends and family; but there's no reason to limit that to just one day a year. I encourage everyone to look beyond the post-Valentine's chocolate sales and take a few moments to talk about heart disease.
February is also Heart Month, a time when the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation ramps up its efforts to raise awareness as well as funds for its life-saving research efforts. Mr. Speaker, we know that the heart plays a critical role in our health. Our hearts keep us alive, but we often don't appreciate this hard-working muscle like we should. When the heart is healthy, it works steadily 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to pump blood through our bodies; but when it's not healthy, we're in serious trouble.
Together with cancer, cardiovascular disease, or heart disease, is the leading cause of death for NWT men and women, and accounted for nearly half of all Canadian deaths in 2014. Those are intimidating numbers, Mr. Speaker, but we are not powerless. Although some heart conditions are congenital, affecting people from birth, up to 80 per cent of coronary heart disease and one third of cancers can be prevented with simple lifestyle changes: quitting smoking; eating well; staying active; and limiting alcohol consumption. Each of these things helps keeps heart disease away.
Your heart will also be happier if you're able to take steps to manage stress in your life, like talking to friends and family about things that are bothering you, and to practice your traditional lifestyle. That could mean staying active through hunting, trapping, wood-cutting, or going out on the land, and eating our delicious country foods. It's surely no coincidence that making these kinds of lifestyle changes can improve our physical and mental health across the board, not just for our hearts.
Mr. Speaker, every year scientists, doctors, and other researchers make new advances in the fight against heart disease, from new pharmaceuticals and surgeries, to public awareness campaigns, to new diagnostic techniques. There is hope and there are ways for all of us to help. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.