With the recent understanding that progenitor cells in the adult body can help heal a damaged heart, both by repairing heart muscle tissue and building new blood vessels to supply oxygen, researchers have been looking for ways to help these cells work harder and live longer. Dr. Darryl Davis, an...
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In a featured research presentation, surgical resident Dr. Joel Price discussed the use of a low-tech simulator to give trainee surgeons after-hours practice time to hone their technique. Surgical skills are usually learned directly on patients in the OR, but a variety of evolving issues are making...
Dr. Michel Le May, Director of the Heart Institute Regional STEMI Program, discussed the impact of bleeding on mortality in patients referred to primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI; angioplasty and stenting) through the STEMI heart attack program. Patients who had a major or minor...
Each year, the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress draws thousands of professionals from across the country to share their expertise and learn about the latest developments in cardiovascular medicine. The Heart Institute continued to increase its impact with more than 125 program items (pdf), not to...
Within 30 days of non-cardiac surgery, one in 10 patients will have a major vascular complication. In the CCC State-of-the-Art lecture, Dr. PJ Devereux of McMaster University brought to the fore work being done to reduce myocardial injury after non-cardiac surgery (MINS). Surgery is stressful, and...
The Heart Institute’s landmark RAFT trial, released in 2010, showed that cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in combination with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) device reduces the risk death by 24 per cent in patients with mild to moderate heart failure. Two new studies mined...
Regenerative medicine was widely discussed at CCC 2012, and Heart Institute researchers continue to innovate in harnessing the body’s own stem cells to fix or replace damaged cardiac tissue. Two Heart Institute graduate students presented research nominated for the Trainee Research Award in basic...
Patients placed on a heart-lung machine for heart surgery have a high incidence of neurocognitive deficits, including memory loss, attention deficits and decline in motor skills. New data from Heart Institute investigators provide some reassurance, though, that many of these deficits resolve over...
Imaging, such as positron emission tomography (PET) and echocardiography, is vital for diagnosing heart disease, but it can also be used in new ways to assess the progress of disease or treatment. Tracking the Impact of Diabetes with PET James Haley, a master’s candidate at the Heart Institute...
Patients who have a heart attack followed by return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), but not consciousness, have a poor prognosis. The neurological outcomes for these so-called ROSC patients can be aided by rapid cooling of the body (therapeutic hypothermia) in the cardiac catheterization lab, but...
An Overview from the Cardiovascular Perspective Diabetes is a large and growing problem in Canada, with diabetic patients at much greater risk for dangerous cardiovascular events, including recurrent heart attacks and the development of heart failure. Because it’s such a major contributor to heart...
Minimally invasive cardiac surgery (MICS) is staking a middle ground between open-heart surgery and catheter-based procedures. Not surprisingly, there are pluses and minuses with each specific procedure, and some are more established than others. All offer the advantages of keeping the heart beating...
In two lively talks, Peter Liu, MD, Scientific Director of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, took a big picture point of view. In his plenary presentation to the Vascular Summit, Dr. Liu highlighted the inextricable link between vascular health and aging. Vascular aging leads to vascular...
Regular physical activity is one of the most beneficial things a person can do to prevent heart disease or support their rehabilitation after a heart attack or cardiac surgery. A study recently published in the British Medical Journal found that exercise can be as good or better than drug therapy...
For patients experiencing an ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), the most dangerous type of heart attack, treatment in a dedicated regional program saves lives. However the benefit specifically to elderly STEMI patients—aged 75 or older—from rapid treatment has not been clear. Among several...
Lorraine Montoya Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) patients tend to be older than most cardiac patients and thus more likely to be frail. Assessment of frailty may hold value in predicting patient outcomes. In a pilot study presented by Heart Institute advanced practice nurse Lorraine...
The promise and challenges of cardiac regenerative medicine—facilitating the growth of new tissue to repair damage to the heart following a heart attack—received wide attention at CCC/Vascular 2013. The labs of University of Ottawa Heart Institute researchers Darryl Davis, MD and Erik Suuronen, PhD...
In a Canadian Cardiovascular Society featured program item, cardiologist Thais Coutinho, MD, a recent Heart Institute recruit from the Mayo Clinic, presented interesting findings on arterial stiffness and hypertension. Globally, hypertension is the leading risk factor for death, yet only about half...
In a randomized clinical trial, a Heart Institute group led by Bob Reid, PhD evaluated a program designed to impact the heart health of family members of patients with heart disease. “Family members of patients are in a teachable moment that gives us the opportunity to prevent them from becoming the...
People with Type D personality are distressed. They tend to experience negative emotions and keep these emotions inside, not sharing them with others. Personality traits such as these are considered stable over time. As would be expected, Type D individuals with cardiovascular disease have a poor...