Peter Munk Cardiac Centre

In a Canadian-first procedure, 60-year-old patient Amy Shannon had her irregular heartbeat eliminated thanks to a surgical team at Health Network's Peter Munk Cardiac Centre.

To eliminate the arrythmia, the team accessed the patient’s heart through a vein in her liver, in a procedure known as a trans-hepatic approach.

The success of this case was only possible because of the multidisciplinary collaboration from different departments at UHN such as: cardiac electrophysiology, congenital heart disease, anesthesiology, interventional radiology, nursing and many more.

Learn more about Amy's ground-breaking surgery 👇
https://bit.ly/3WxAkyi

Thank you to the Rosenbaum family for its $5M donation in support of UHN's Peter Munk Cardiac Centre!

This donation will enable UHN to recruit and retain new top cardiovascular talent. 👉 https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/uhn-s-peter-munk-cardiac-centre-receives-5m-donation-to-recruit-and-retain-new-top-cardiovascular-talent-881881593.html

Great Gulf UHN Foundation

UHN'S PETER MUNK CARDIAC CENTRE RECEIVES $5M DONATION TO RECRUIT AND RETAIN NEW TOP CARDIOVASCULAR TALENT /CNW/ - UHN Foundation announced today a gift of $5M from the Rosenbaum family in support of UHN's Peter Munk Cardiac Centre. The donation from Harry...

A UHN-created tool that supports Emergency Department physicians in deciding whether to admit or discharge a heart failure patient is now available in UHN's health information system!

The Emergency Heart Failure Mortality Risk Grade (EHMRG) calculator uses key metrics like age, blood pressure, creatinine and potassium levels, to gauge whether a heart failure patient is low to high risk. Based on the score, different courses of action are recommended.

"We're not just enhancing the decision-making process, we're helping to transform the way heart failure is managed in the Emergency Department."

Read more about this innovative tool 👉 https://bit.ly/44QfnkC

Shortness of breath?

Persistent cough?

It could be a sign of .

Know the signs, take action, and learn more 👉 https://heartfailure.ca

As a former heart surgery patient, UHN Volunteer Michael Harding knows the ups and downs of recovery – that’s why he volunteers with UHN’s Peter Munk Cardiac Centre.

He supports the volunteer-run Cardiac Pillow Project, which provides heart-shaped cardiac pillows – sewn and delivered by UHN Volunteers like Michael and Emma Appathurai (Photo 2) – for post-cardiac surgery patients.

The pillows are meant to cushion patients’ healing wounds. After surgery, a patient hugs the pillow to stabilize their breastbone while coughing. Once discharged, the pillow follows on the road to recovery acting as a barrier between the seatbelt and chest when they depart for home.

Michael also volunteers his time as a Cardiac Mentor.

"By talking to cardiac patients and their families about my experience I hope it helps them through their recovery,” he says.

Wishing a Happy National to Michael, Emma and all Volunteers!

Drs. Phyllis Billia, Marnie Rodger and Helen Zhang hosted a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) training day for critical care paramedics! (VADs can be used in patients with heart failure).

The training is part of a new initiative to teach colleagues how to care for LVAD patients.

Thank you for joining Toronto Paramedic Services, Critical Care Transport Unit (CCTU) and Critical Care Paramedics!

Living with heart failure comes with many questions about tomorrow. That’s why The Heart Hub and Sinai Health are hosting a free, virtual webinar on Living with Advanced Heart Failure on February 29 from 12-1pm.

You can expect to hear from clinicians about advanced heart failure, pick up tips from people with lived experience on coping with symptoms and uncertainty, and ask your own questions. Register today:

Living with Advanced Heart Failure: Coping with Symptoms & Uncertainty Introducing a brand new guide for patients and caregivers!

If you’re living with advanced or caring for someone who is, it can be hard to know what the future might hold.

Our NEW guide is here to help you know what to expect in this stage of your journey.

It's filled with essential info to help manage symptoms, plan for the future, and adopt self-care practices.

Check out the new guide, Living with Advanced Heart Failure: Coping with Symptoms and Uncertainty, by visiting The Heart Hub: ourhearthub.ca/living-with-advanced-heart-failure

A few wise words from patient Nathalie Lacoste-Hofmann on living with congenital heart disease. ✨

"Surround yourself with people who are supportive. The ups and downs will always come. Today might not be great, but tomorrow might be fine. If you tough it out, things always turn around.”

What advice would you offer to someone on their own journey with ?

Full story: bit.ly/4864V8v

Heartlinks

What it feels like: One day at a time with congenital heart disease The word “congenital” means present at birth. The disease occurs when the chambers, walls or valves of the heart, or the blood vessels near the heart, don’t develop normally before birth, according to the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada .

The CIHR grant results from Fall 2023 are in!

Congratulations to Peter Munk Cardiac Centre investigators Lusine Abrahamyan, Slava Epelman, Kathryn Howe, Clinton Robbins, Dinesh Thavendiranathan and their teams. Your work continues to advance the fields of and , and reflects the excellence and innovation that the University Health Network is known for.

patient Karen F**g won't let her heart stop her.

Born with ccTGA - a rare heart defect where the ventricles are reversed - Karen has been a patient with the University Health Network for 30+ years. Dr. Rafa Alonso and the team at the Toronto Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ACHD) Program, monitor Karen closely, ensuring she has everything she needs to live life to the fullest.

“I put my trust in UHN – in Dr. Alonso and all the care providers – they give me the strength to keep going.”

🔗rb.gy/u2c8ph

Research shows that patients with depression and anxiety have higher mortality and morbidity rates. In a unique approach to this problem, NP Galadriel Barrett Laffan provides support for our patients to improve patient outcomes as well as enhance cardiac and psychiatric knowledge transfer.

Full story: https://ow.ly/lqJn50Qu1IW

Heartlinks

The groundbreaking work behind the Medly app demonstrates what can happen when a diverse team of experts comes together to solve healthcare’s biggest challenges. we can provide inclusive, world-class care for all Canadians.

🔗 https://ow.ly/3y5Z50Qt64o



UHN Foundation University Health Network Heartlinks

UHN's Medly is revolutionizing heart failure care Canada News Media provides the latest news from Canada! Read the UHN's Medly is revolutionizing heart failure care

Just 12 days after receiving his on December 10, Ralph Pichler was back home recovering with his loved ones.

“Ralph was a unique individual," said Dr. Vivek Rao. "We don’t get too many Olympians that come through our doors that have .”

"He was adamant that he was going to leave the hospital before Christmas, and he did."

Full story: bit.ly/3tAjTpb

Olympic bobsledder calls mechanical heart a ‘Christmas gift’ after organ failure - National | Globalnews.ca Amid the twinkling lights and festive cheer, Olympic bobsledder Ralph Pichler, 69, is counting his blessings this Christmas.

Due to unpredictable rockslides, we decided not to attempt Chimborazo. We may be testing our limits, but we are not playing roulette with our lives. Reflecting on our expedition as we watched the most amazing sunset from basecamp, I am not even slightly disappointed!

🏔️ We successfully summited 6 of 7 peaks
♥️ We are all safe, healthy, and had fun
💪🏾 We DEFINITELY tested our limits

Thank you to everyone who followed along and cheered us on!

Until next trek,
Heather & the team.

will attempt tonight! Keep your fingers crossed for good weather 🤞🇪🇨

It's not too late to enter our giveaway for a chance to win some Test Your Limits gear. Comment on the blog using the hashtag 🏔️ bit.ly/3Gt03z3

📢 GIVEAWAY ALERT! 📢

The team has a few more acclimation hikes to go before they take on Chimborazo, the highest peak in Ecuador and the closest point on Earth to the sun. This is no small undertaking - and they need your support!

🏔️From now until December 14, comment on the Test Your Limits blog to enter a raffle for one-of-a-kind gear.

🗨️Each blog post you comment on = one entry. Enter as many times as you like, and don’t forget to use the hashtag when you comment.

Follow the blog here: https://testyourlimits.ca/category/blog-2023-category/

👏Go team go!👏

Generative can revolutionize healthcare – but medical professionals should be the ones to lead.

Large-language models like could soon become essential tools for diagnosing and treating patients. To protect patient privacy, medical professionals must drive the development and deployment of these models, say researchers and clinicians from Peter Munk Cardiac Centre and University Health Network AI Hub.

Read more 🔗

To safely deploy generative AI in health care, models must be open source Large-language models such as that used by ChatGPT could soon become essential tools for diagnosing and treating patients. To protect people’s privacy and safety, medical professionals, not commercial interests, must drive their development and deployment.

The Test Your Limits team is gearing up for Chimborazo with a few acclimatization hikes. Yesterday's was Ruco Pichincha, a 6-hour hike to a summit of 4,696m. If that sounds intense, wait until you see the descent...

Watch ➡️🫣 bit.ly/47BuKhi


UHN Foundation Ajmera Transplant Centre at UHN Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research

Test Your Limits - Ruco Pichincha

The Test Your Limits team, headed up by our very own Dr. Heather Ross and heart transplant recipient Dale Shippam, has officially touched down in Quito for Test Your Limits: Ecuador! ✈️🏔️

Test Your Limits is an initiative Dr. Ross started in 2006 to raise awareness and support for heart failure research, cardiac transplantation, and heart health. Along with doctors and transplant patients, Dr. Ross has embarked on 10 hair-raising expeditions and raised over $4 million!

Join the team’s adventure by following their trek blog: https://testyourlimits.ca/category/blog-2023-category/.

Test Your Limits is back! Dr. Heather Ross and recipient Dale Shippam leave for Ecuador tomorrow to explore the Andes and summit Mt. Chimborazo 🏔️🫀

"Test Your Limits funds innovative and disruptive technologies that can sometimes have difficulties getting traditional funding," says Dr. Ross. To date, Test Your Limits has raised over $4MM.

Full story 🔗bit.ly/3sJRsEQ

Heartlinks Trillium Gift of Life Network UHN Foundation University Health Network Ajmera Transplant Centre at UHN

Ontario man hopes to become first heart transplant recipient to summit Mount Chimborazo An Ontario man hopes to become the first heart transplant recipient to reach the summit of a peak in Ecuador.

What inspired you to become a ?

For Coleen Power, it was being part of a multidisciplinary team. Working in collaboration with providers from across the University Health Network, NPs ensure optimal patient care for each and every one of their patients.

Nurse Practitioners' Association of Ontario

2 minutes for $100,000? We’re in!

For the annual Meet the Stars event, some of our best and brightest compete against one another for a chance to win $100,000 for their .

Congrats to this year's winner, Dr. Sanjog Kalra, and well done to everyone who participated!

UHN Foundation Research at UHN

We asked our NPs what they love about their work, and there were no short answers! 🤩 From crafting comprehensive care plans to developing NP-led clinics to critical thinking and decision-making, the list goes on and on.

What do you love about NPs?

University Health Network Nurse Practitioner Association of Canada Nurse Practitioners' Association of Ontario

Congratulations, Dr. Phyllis Billia, 2023 recipient of University Health Network's Local Impact Award, Commercialization! 👏

Dr. Billia and her team at CHI Diagnostics received this award for their work developing a proprietary blood test to predict adverse outcomes in high-risk patients.🩸

Using this blood test to detect clonal hematopoiesis – an inflamed state that is driven by mutations in the cells in a patient’s blood – the team can identify patients at high risk of complications, most especially patients immediately post-transplant, as well as those with certain cancers or . Patent-pending and currently used in the clinic, the test has the potential for various applications for bedside screening to both reduce risk and identify preventative treatment options for these patients.

Congrats to Dr. Billia and her team! 🙌

Ajmera Transplant Centre at UHN UHN Foundation

Kicking off Nurse Practitioners' Week with new NP-led research!

A recent study, co-authored by NPs Barbara Bailey and Shereli Soldevilla, suggests exercise interventions could significantly improve recovery for frail patients after .

🔗https://ow.ly/nLRF50Q6XRn

Happy !