Archive

On July 26 this past summer, two cardiologists at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute implanted a defibrillator. Nothing out of the ordinary, you would think. It is something they do almost daily to provide lifesaving therapy for patients at risk of sudden cardiac death. But this was out of the

“We have a long way to go to cure heart disease.” This is the view of Dr. Peter Liu, the recently appointed Scientific Director at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. Despite the state-of-the-art care available today, doctors are yet to restore a patient’s heart and blood vessels to their

Somewhere between traditional cardiologists and cardiac surgeons sit interventional cardiologists. Like surgeons, interventionists get blood on their gowns in the process of correcting structural problems of the heart, but their approach is more subtle and less invasive. Spending their days in the

Interventional cardiologists at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute are championing broad-based innovation by using catheter-based procedures to treat a variety of conditions. This gallery highlights a minimally invasive procedure, called TAVI (transcatheter aortic valve implantation), for

Heart failure is a disease that challenges the patient and the health care system alike. An often progressive condition with many potential causes and no cure, it can be effectively managed. Doing so is a complex effort that requires diligence and careful monitoring, but a recent study evaluating

Participants at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute’s 25th Annual Research Day attend a research presentation. The program included more than 75 presentations in the categories of basic science, clinical science, and allied and population health. May 7, 2012, marked the 25th Annual Research Day

RAPID GENE, the first-ever bedside genetic test, has received peer-reviewed validation in The Lancet, the world’s leading general medical journal. As first reported in The Beat (Volume 7, Issue 1), RAPID GENE is a point-of-care genetic test that uses a simple cheek swab to assess whether a patient

Family medicine is an important setting for managing cardiovascular risk factors and preventing the onset of heart disease, as well as managing risk factors following a cardiac event. If a patient is a smoker, explained Dr. Andrew Pipe, Chief of Prevention and Rehabilitation at the University of

In March, Dr. Rob Beanlands was appointed Chief of Cardiology at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. He brings extensive career experience in cardiovascular imaging and a passion for patient-centred care and education to his new position. Dr. Beanlands takes over from Dr. Terrence Ruddy, Chief

To new cardiac anesthesiology residents, Dr. Jean-Yves Dupuis explains that it may be hard for them to predict the twists and turns their careers might take. “I tell them that the day I finished my internship back in 1979, I swore I would never go back to a university hospital—I wanted to travel the