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At this year’s premier international gathering for heart disease, the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions, sharing expertise was a major aspect of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute’s presence. In Ask the Expert and seminar sessions, surgeons Marc Ruel, Munir Boodhwani, David...

Each of us breathes in 10,000 or more litres of air every day, so it’s no surprise that the quality of that air can impact our health. Whether in large urban centres or more rural settings, air pollution can be a fact of life. As it turns out, these airborne pollutants—ground-level ozone, nitrogen...

The American Heart Association Scientific Sessions is the largest conference for cardiovascular science and medicine in the world. The staff of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute is once again responsible for many expert clinical talks and research presentations. This guide highlights those...

The American Heart Association Scientific Sessions is the largest conference for cardiovascular science and medicine in the world. The staff of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute is once again responsible for many expert clinical talks and research presentations. This guide highlights those...

Aortic disease is often referred to as a silent condition because there are usually no symptoms to alert either the patient or doctor. The consequences, however, can be catastrophic, as in the case of an aortic dissection—a tear in the wall of this major artery. Rapid diagnosis and treatment are...

The kid was no more than 7, a scruffy little dark-eyed boy who was followed everywhere by his younger brother. For days, they’d set up just outside the Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan, trying to make enough money selling drink boxes to survive. Like most boys his age, he couldn’t keep still, moving...

For a groundbreaking new technique to gain traction within the global surgical community, it must have a community of practice—“a community of surgeons,” explained Dr. Marc Ruel, “performing it regularly, who can give feedback to each other and develop new approaches and tricks within the technique...

Heart disease is different for women, and that difference is borne out in almost every aspect of the disease: the factors that lead to it, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and even risk of death. In fact, heart disease kills more women worldwide than all cancers, tuberculosis, AIDS and malaria...

From the operating room and catheterization lab to the intensive care unit, cardiac anesthesiologists are central to patient care. Often, it is their role to shepherd the sickest and most complex patients through recovery. Stéphane Lambert, MD, is the recently appointed Division Head for Cardiac...

Cardiac procedures are a study in teamwork. Whether inserting a stent, implanting a pacemaker or performing corrective surgery, a team of professionals, each with a different set of skills, works in unison to achieve the best possible outcome for the patient. “These are very much multidisciplinary...

Survival rates for cardiac arrest outside of a hospital setting are poor. Only about 5% of people survive, though encouraging people to get trained in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the placement of defibrillators in public places like sports and recreation facilities have improved the...

The heart is more than just a muscle. A complex electrical system drives the heart’s chambers to contract in a coordinated rhythm, pushing blood out to every cell in the body. When the system is damaged by heart disease, short circuits can result, causing dangerous disturbances in heart rhythm...

When you enter the rehabilitation area of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, it looks very much like a gym—treadmills, stationary bikes and elliptical trainers, all surrounded by a four-lane track. So you might think rehabilitation is all about physical fitness, but there’s much more to it...

It’s been shown to lower death rates from heart disease and even from other causes after the onset of cardiovascular disease, and it helps patients achieve a better quality of life. In fact, cardiac rehabilitation is a key “next step” in the recovery process following a heart attack or procedures...

A complex condition that is not well understood, cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) can affect the electrical pathways in the heart and cause potentially serious irregular heartbeats, known as arrhythmias. In May of this year, the Heart Rhythm Society released the first international guidelines for diagnosing...