It was a cold, wintery morning on January 15 when a crowd of well-wishers joined numerous city and provincial dignitaries to celebrate the groundbreaking for the University of Ottawa Heart Institute’s expansion project. Many years in the making, the expansion will have a substantial impact on the

Heart failure is an insidious disease. Its symptoms can be vague—including shortness of breath, swelling of the ankles and fatigue. Too often, patients and family doctors miss the warning signs entirely, explained Peter Liu, MD, Chief Scientific Officer and Vice President of Research at the

A device about the size of a smartphone is enabling cardiologists to generate images of patients’ hearts at the point of care, enabling them to make more informed diagnoses and even intervene earlier. The result? Improved care and outcomes, and possibly even reduced health care costs. The device is

Arrhythmias — disturbances of the heart’s normal rhythm—affect more than 1.5 million Canadians and can impact a person’s health and well-being in a variety of ways. Sudden cardiac death caused by an arrhythmia kills 40,000 people every year. An estimated 350,000 Canadians are living with atrial

Hospitalization for pneumonia is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in middle-aged and older adults with no history of heart disease, according to a study recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Presenting his findings at the University of

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