A form of heart failure known as heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF, pronounced “hefpef”) is becoming more common but remains poorly understood. No effective treatment options exist. Women are twice as likely to suffer from HFpEF as men, but the reasons for this are also unclear...
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Cancer and heart disease are the two leading causes of death. As we live longer lives, we are more likely to eventually have one or the other. But for many cancer patients, treatment of their condition makes it much more likely that they will have to deal with both. More people are surviving cancer...
Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is a dangerous condition that is not well understood. It primarily affects women in their 30s to 50s who have no standard risk factors for heart disease. A tear forms in the wall of an artery allowing blood to pool between the inner and outer layers of...
In the United States, comparative rankings of hospitals based on the quality of their cardiovascular (CV) care are easily available online and in the mainstream media. In Canada, this information is almost entirely unavailable, but a new joint initiative of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS)...
Many of the patients admitted to hospital with a STEMI heart attack (ST-elevation myocardial infarction) have major blockages in blood vessels other than the one directly responsible for the heart attack. The best strategy for treating these patients remains an open question for cardiologists...
Read detailed coverage of CCC and AHA 2014 – highlights include text messaging and mobile apps for health promotion, updates on atrial fibrillation and the future of cardiac rehabilitation. CCC 2014: Presentations and Activities Schedule (pdf) AHA 2014: Presentations and Activities Schedule (pdf)...
We know the best ways to prevent a heart attack. Healthy eating, being physically active and not smoking are key among them. And advances in cardiac care are helping people live longer and with a better quality of life if they do have a heart attack. But there is no way to repair the damage and...
This year, the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress is part of an even larger event called Vascular 2013, combining parallel conferences dedicated to cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes and stroke. The University of Ottawa Heart Institute has program items in all of these—nearly 120 in all...
Thirty-one years ago, it was not known that the heart produces hormones. That changed in 1981 when Adolfo de Bold, PhD, discovered that muscle cells in the atria of the heart secrete atrial natriuretic factor (ANF), an essential hormone that regulates fluid volume, blood pressure and sodium. Since...
In 2016, the first Canadian Women’s Heart Health Summit marked the only national gathering focused on women’s heart health in over 15 years. Now, as planning for the 2018 Summit moves into full swing, the organizers have published a summary of the results from the 2016 event in the Canadian Journal...
At the big-picture level, we understand the risk factors for a heart attack, including high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, and genetics. We also know that a heart attack is caused when plaque buildup in the wall of a coronary artery ruptures and blocks the blood vessel. What...
Cardiac rehabilitation and secondary prevention (CRSP) programs are recommended for patients with cardiovascular disease, however participation in these programs is believed to be alarmingly low. At the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress, where hundreds of cardiovascular specialists and allied...
In October, a crane carefully lowered the University of Ottawa Heart Institute’s first dedicated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner into a narrow access way so that it could be rolled through the exterior wall of the building and into position. By early December, the new MRI facility was fully...
A White Paper published in the American Heart Association’s Journal, Circulation, is proposing a number of novel strategies for the improved future of heart health centres serving women. Dr. Thais Coutinho, Chief of the Division of Cardiac Prevention and Rehabilitation at the University of Ottawa...
With case numbers, hospitalizations, and ICU admissions all up, Canada’s third wave is proving more dangerous than at any other point since the pandemic began more than a year ago. It’s beginning to feel as though it’s the twelfth round of a boxing match and COVID-19 is bounce-stepping on fresh legs...
Our editorial team is working from home to bring you a series of articles about the coronavirus. This article, about a study that explores the potential of medical imaging for detecting coronavirus, is the second in the series. A computerized tomography scan (CT scan for short) uses three...
With enthusiasm and a shared sense of purpose, experts in women and heart disease gathered in Ottawa this April for the first Canadian Women’s Heart Health Summit. Attendees included leading figures in clinical care and research from across North America. The event aimed to lay the groundwork for...
In the 1950s, available advice on women and heart health largely consisted of information on how to help husbands recover from their heart attacks. As the famous ad says, we’ve come a long way, baby. Progress is being made in addressing women’s heart health, progress that was amply demonstrated at...
Heather Tulloch, PhD, is a Clinical, Health and Rehabilitation Psychologist at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Medicine and the School of Psychology at the University of Ottawa. As staff psychologist in the Heart Institute’s Division of Cardiac...
When Nazli Parast, APN, was studying to become a cardiac nurse, she was surprised at how little she learned about women's heart health and the specific risk factors for heart disease unique to women. Today, some fifteen years later, Nazli has a master’s degree in nursing, and she is one of the...