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[Editor’s note: This article is an update of a previously published story.] Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women worldwide, yet it remains under-diagnosed and symptoms often go unrecognized. In July of this year, the Canadian Women’s Heart Health Centre published the results of a

[Editor’s note: This article is an update of previously published story.] Nearly one in every 100 babies is born with some form of congenital heart disease (CHD). In the 1950s, only about 15% of these children with severe heart defects reached their 18th birthday. Today, with advances in treatment

Finding a gene associated with disease is one thing. Understanding how it increases the likelihood of contracting that disease can be quite another, especially a complex condition like heart disease. After five years, Heart Institute researchers now know how one genetic variant works and suspect

The second annual Ottawa Heart Research Conference convened on May 8, bringing together an enthusiastic community of scientists and trainees to share insights on personalized cardiovascular medicine. The theme was chosen in honour of former University of Ottawa Heart Institute President and CEO

The past decade has seen rapid progress in cataloguing the genetic factors driving heart disease risk. The University of Ottawa Heart Institute led the way, discovering the first and, to date, highest-impact common genetic variant linked to coronary artery disease. Many others have been found since

Since their first appearance in the late 1980s, the cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins have become one of the most widely prescribed classes of drugs ever produced. The medication is used to treat coronary artery disease (atherosclerosis) by lowering the amount of LDL cholesterol—the “bad”

Lana Gillard was used to going to the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. Her mother was a long-time patient there, suffering from chronic heart failure after many years of treatment and several open-heart surgeries. Gillard accompanied her to appointments and knew her mother was in excellent

There is a flood of advice in the world about diets and healthy eating. From the food pyramid to fad diets, from books to blogs to celebrity chefs, some of it is good information, some of it is outrageous, and a lot of it is complicated and hard to live by. Healthy eating shouldn’t be hard, but it

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

Intensive care lives up to its name when you visit the patients who are receiving it in the Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit (CSICU). Most patients stay for no more than a day in the University of Ottawa Heart Institute’s CSICU, some will stay for three or four days, and the sickest of the sick