Being a patient can be confusing and overwhelming. There can be a lot of new information to absorb at a time when patients are not feeling their best. Decisions are often necessary and the implications of those choices may not be clear. Recovery can involve following detailed instructions or making

The next time you stub your toe so hard it becomes red and swollen, consider the fact that you are witnessing one of life’s original defensive manoeuvres. When ancient Earth was populated only by microscopic, single-celled organisms, if one of them preyed upon another the only result was death. But

Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are used for a variety of indications, but in all cases, their function is the same—to deliver an electrical shock to the heart when they detect an erratic heart rhythm, known as a ventricular arrhythmia. An ICD is surgically implanted, as the name

After five years as a post-doctoral fellow at New York University, former Ottawa Heart Institute trainee Mireille Ouimet, PhD, has returned to the Institute to lead the new Cardiovascular Metabolism and Cell Biology Laboratory. Her team will focus on understanding how defects in a cellular process

Eighteen – it’s a tough age. Leaving the safe confines of high school for the wider world, starting post-secondary education or work, maybe moving away from your family to do so. Continuing with the adolescent task of figuring out who you are in the world, what you believe, what you want to do, how

Responsible for countless health problems, including cardiovascular and respiratory illness, and many forms of cancer, smoking commonly leads to hospitalization. Surprisingly, a minority of Canadian hospitals have systems, policies or procedures in place that support the consistent, effective