Researchers at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry have been awarded $26.3 million in funding from the Government of Canada to host and establish the Canadian Arrhythmia Network Cardiac Arrhythmia Network of Canada (CANet) as a Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE). This funding will be used to help reduce the burden of health conditions related to arrhythmia — otherwise known as heart rhythm disturbances — such as syncope, atrial fibrillation and sudden cardiac death. The goal is to improve the health of millions of patients across Canada suffering from heart rhythm disturbances by developing, implementing and evaluating new technologies and health strategies. Dr. Anthony Tang, a professor in Schulich Medicine & Dentistry’s Department of Medicine’s cardiology division and scientist at Lawson Health Research Institute, will be leading the network as its Scientific Director and CEO. “In Canada, there are a lot of people dying prematurely from sudden cardiac death,” Dr. Tang explained. “Even though we have some ways of dealing with it, it’s still the number one cause of people dying — even more so than cancers.” He added that CANet will generate benefits to Canada through the creation and use of new technological innovation to advance...