Ontario's first cardiac stem cell transplant performed at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre (Canada)

Heart failure is a leading cause of death in Canada. As part of the ongoing IMPACT-CABG clinical trial to treat advanced heart failure, physicians at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre performed the first cardiac stem cell transplant in Ontario using stem cells derived from the patient's own bone marrow, isolated completely within the operating room, and implanted into the heart at the time of coronary bypass surgery. Researchers hope that stem cell therapy may be developed into a novel treatment for the 50,000 Canadians diagnosed each year with advanced heart failure. The first patient to receive this type of stem cell therapy, James Culross, a 67-year-old man from Etobicoke, will be discharged this week after 2.83 million stem cells were injected into seven sites where his heart had been damaged by a heart attack in November 2011. The stem cells were injected following coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, by a multi-disciplinary team led by Dr. Terrence Yau, Cardiac Surgeon and Director of the Cardiac Stem Cell Therapy Program at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre. A second patient underwent successful stem cell implantation and CABG surgery at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre

Canadian mining magnate gives $17-million for heart research

The head of global mining company Barrick Gold has donated $17.2-million to boost cardiac research in Toronto. Peter Munk said the gift was aimed at helping Canada attract and retain top medical professionals who often leave for higher-paying positions in the United States and Europe. The money will support four new centers for heart research and five chairs at Toronto General Hospital's Peter Munk Cardiac Centre. The new facilities will be devoted to the study of cardiac-valve disease, multinational clinical trials, personalized molecular medicine, and aortic diseases. Mr. Munk and his wife, Melanie, launched the cardiac center with a $5.7-million gift in 1997 and contributed $33.5-million five years ago for new diagnostic equipment

Heart scientists discover protein that may be 1 cause of heart failure

Researchers at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre discovered a protein switch which can trigger a cascade of events leading to heart failure, pointing to a new direction for drug development. "Our research suggests that PINK1 is an important switch that sets off a cascade of events affecting heart cell metabolism," says Dr. Phyllis Billia, principal author, clinician‑scientist and heart failure specialist at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre. "This could be one of the inciting events in the development of heart failure." The findings, published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, show that the absence of a certain protein, PINK1, causes heart cells to produce less energy. This lack of energy causes some heart cells to die, forcing the remaining cells to work harder to keep the heart going. In response to this stress, the heart muscle cells thicken, a condition known as hypertrophy. Heart failure is the most common cause of hospitalization in North American adults, and over 50,000 are treated for advanced heart failure annually. Transplantation is the only long-term treatment for end-stage heart failure patients and the long wait times for a matching donor organ make it necessary to find other alternatives - EurekAlert

Heart patients should be referred to Cardiac Rehabilitation before leaving hospital

"Healthcare practitioners can increase the number of patients referred to a cardiac rehabilitation program by 45 per cent, helping them to reduce their risk of dying and improve their quality of life, say researchers at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre. Previous studies, including one by Taylor in 2004, indicate that participating in cardiac rehab after a cardiac illness, such as a heart attack, can reduce the risk of death by approximately 25 per cent, a reduction similar to that of other standard therapies such as cholesterol-lowering medications (statins) and aspirin. In spite of this evidence, only 20 to 30 per cent of patients are referred to a cardiac rehabilitation program after hospital discharge, a phenomenon observed in many countries. Researchers at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre explored multiple strategies to increase referrals to cardiac rehabilitation programs at 11 hospitals across Ontario, including using a discharge checklist for doctors, electronic referral in medical records and talking with patients at the bedside. According to the study, "Effect of Cardiac Rehabilitation Referral Strategies on Utilization Rates," published in the February 14 edition of the Journal Archives of Internal Medicine, a combined approach – a checklist or electronic referral and talking with patients – can increase referrals by 45 per cent. By targeting both healthcare providers and patients, over 70 per cent of patients enroll in cardiac rehab."