On Wednesday, September 13, 2017, the Cardiac Arrhythmia Network of Canada (CANet) hosted Arrhythmia Care: Exploring Innovations and Advancements in Treatment and Management, its second annual Public Forum. Over 170 people filled the Commonwealth Ballroom at the Westin Nova Scotian hotel in Halifax, eager to learn more about arrhythmia research, treatment and care. Dr. Ratika Parkash, the Chair of the Public Forum planning committee and a clinician scientist at the QEII Heath Sciences Centre, welcomed everyone and introduced Dr. Bryce Pickard, the Managing Director and COO of CANet. Dr. Pickard described CANet’s goals and the vital role that patients play in the network – as committee members, as project co-leads, and as advisors. CANet focuses its research attention on three arrhythmia-related tracks: atrial fibrillation, sudden cardiac death, and syncope (fainting). Dr. Allan Skanes (London Health Sciences Centre), Dr. Paul Dorian (St. Michael’s Hospital) and Dr. Venkatesh Thiruganasambandamoorthy (Ottawa Hospital Research Institute) highlighted projects that CANet has funded and the exciting results they are producing – like VIRTUES and the Canadian Syncope Risk Score. CANet was especially excited to have Dr. Sears, an internationally-recognized expert on the psychological care and quality-of-life outcomes of patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators, present at the...
The Cardiac Arrhythmia Network of Canada (CANet) was pleased to host its 2017 Annual Scientific Conference in beautiful Halifax, Nova Scotia on September 14-15, 2017. This year’s conference, titled Arrhythmia Care: Disruption, Innovation, Transformation, provided our network with a detailed update on CANet’s progress and also presented members with valuable ideas and tools in hopes of inspiring them in their quests to transform arrhythmia care in Canada. Prior to the opening of the conference, CANet hosted a Public Forum on the evening of September 13. Members of the community were invited to join CANet Network Investigators, local arrhythmia care support providers and patients to learn about arrhythmia care and innovations and advancements in its treatment and management. To read additional details, visit: https://canetinc.ca/news/2017-public-forum-recap Over 160 attendees filled the Commonwealth Ballroom at the Westin Nova Scotian, as we kicked off the conference with the keynote speaker, Richard Alvarez, former President and CEO of Canada Health Infoway. Mr. Alvarez gave a compelling and insightful look into the power of digital innovation to modernize and sustain Canada’s health care system. One such digital innovation—and one of the CANet’s greatest accomplishments so far—is the development of VIRTUES, a virtual integrated reliable transformative user-driven e-health system....
More physicians will soon be evaluating an innovative radio frequency (RF) needle developed by Baylis Medical Company Inc. as part of a cross-Canada clinical trial in people with atrial fibrillation (AF). It is the most common heart arrhythmia abnormality and accounts for the majority of arrhythmia-related emergency room visits and hospital admissions. Previous studies have demonstrated that the RF needle can be faster, safer and more effective than a mechanical needle for unrelated procedures. Positive results from the CANet study would complement and expand this growing body of evidence. The 150-patient, multi-centre randomized controlled trial is being sponsored by the Cardiac Arrhythmia Network of Canada (CANet), a national research network that brings together health care professionals, academia, government, industry, not-for-profit organizations, and patients to evaluate and put into practice innovative technologies that improve patient care. The study is one of several CANet-supported projects aimed at reducing AF-related emergency department visits and hospitalization, and the latest in a series of such projects in which Baylis has collaborated. “Baylis is excited to be partnering once again with CANet, which shares our passion for improving patient care and working with hospitals to facilitate the adoption of safe and effective technologies,” says Kris Shah,...
Syncope, commonly known as fainting, occurs when an individual experiences a temporary loss of consciousness caused by a decrease in blood flow to the brain. Professor Robert Sheldon, working at the University of Calgary, has dedicated much of his career to the investigation of syncope and its causes. Over the past three decades, extensive collaborative international research has explored this phenomenon with the aim of providing timely access to high quality care, while giving patients the tools that empower them to manage their condition themselves. Episodes of ‘syncope’ or sudden fainting followed by a relatively speedy recovery make up approximately 1%–1.5% of all emergency department visits. The tests and diagnoses following these episodes can be extremely varied, making the effective evaluation and treatment of affected individuals difficult. Working closely with international colleagues, Professor Sheldon at the University of Calgary and founder of the Canadian Autonomics and Syncope Alliance, has studied syncope extensively for almost 30 years. This highly collaborative research has forged the way for the development of effective guidelines and improved diagnosis, management and treatment. Causes of syncope Syncope episodes can be related to a wide range of biological factors or medical conditions. Vasovagal syncope, mediated by the autonomic...
London, ON, September 11, 2017 — The Cardiac Arrhythmia Network of Canada (CANet) is pleased to announce the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) has awarded Dr. Anthony Tang, Professor of Medicine at Western University and Scientific Director / CEO of CANet, as the 2017 CCS Research Achievement Award winner. Dr. Anthony Tang will be recognized at the CCS Awards Ceremony on Sunday, October 22nd, 2017, during the 2017 Canadian Cardiovascular Conference (CCC) in Vancouver, BC. “On behalf of the Cardiac Arrhythmia Network of Canada, I extend the sincerest congratulations to Dr. Anthony Tang for being named the recipient of the 2017 CCS Research Achievement Award for his long-standing dedication to research in improving the lives of people with cardiac arrhythmia and heart failure.” said Dr. Pierre Boyle, CANet Board Chair. “Dr. Anthony Tang’s national and international research, as well as, his contributions and leadership to CANet and the arrhythmia community have been transformational. Highly respected among his colleagues, Dr. Anthony Tang is a researcher at the highest level of achievement. The Cardiac Arrhythmia Network of Canada is extremely proud of Dr. Anthony Tang’s accomplishments.” The prestigious Research Achievement Award was created in 1982 in recognition of research excellence. Dr. Anthony Tang...
Doctors in the Emergency Department at The Ottawa Hospital couldn’t explain why Jacinthe Bisson was having fainting spells, until a clinical study revealed she had a life-threatening heart condition. In one year, the 51-year-old had three syncope, or fainting, episodes. But by the time she arrived at the hospital, she was fine and the doctors could not identify what had caused her to faint. Often syncope is brought on by dehydration, a drop in blood pressure, or an overactive nervous system (such as fainting when seeing blood). Bisson had none of these issues. A small percentage of people with syncope suffer from serious medical conditions, such as an irregular heartbeat, or arrhythmia. Often patients with unexplained syncope are monitored for few hours. However, if their heartbeat is normal during that time, their condition isn’t caught and they could be discharged only to go home and later die from an arrhythmia. Bisson was an ideal candidate to take part in a clinical study led by scientist and emergency physician Dr. Venkatesh Thiruganasambandamoorthy, who is also a professor at the University of Ottawa. “I wanted to find out what was going on with me. And I’m interested in science and research, so if...
CANet Network Investigators Dr. Jason Andrade and Dr. Allan Skanes, along with Industry Partners Allison Rubino (Clinical Research Manager, Medtronic Canada) and Kris Shah (President, Baylis Medical), discuss the ways CANet is working to improve atrial fibrillation treatment and care. Read all about it in this feature article written by the Networks of Centres of Excellence: “Fixing” Atrial Fibrillation Earlier Would Benefit Millions of Canadians.
(London, ON): The Cardiac Arrhythmia Network of Canada (CANet) and its partners are pleased to announce funding for five new strategic research grants (SRG) totaling over $2.8 million with an additional $2.8 million in matching funds. The Strategic Research Grants will fund research that brings together clinicians, engineers, social scientists, industry, government and patients, in an effort to reduce premature deaths and suffering caused by heart rhythm disturbances (arrhythmias). “The projects that are receiving funding will help CANet to meet our strategic goals to decrease hospital admissions and improve the quality of life for millions of Canadians with arrhythmias,” said Dr. Anthony Tang, CEO and Scientific Director of CANet. “We are grateful to our partners for providing the matching funds to help advance this important research.” CANet invited applications for multidisciplinary, multi-sectoral and multi-centered research programs designed to impact the care and/or lives of people living with arrhythmias. After an intensive review process, CANet awarded the following five projects: Arrhythmias, such as atrial fibrillation, syncope, and other common heart rhythm disturbances affect millions of Canadians resulting in early unexpected deaths and reduced quality of life. Arrhythmias are projected to be the leading cause of death in Canada by 2020. ...
Read Dr. Ratika Parkash’s latest article in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology: Primary Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death With Device Therapy in Urban and Rural Populations Are Patients in Rural Areas Being Deprived of Potentially Lifesaving Therapy? New report in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology shows that rural patients have lower referral rates and higher refusal rates for implantable cardioverter defibrillators, a standard device therapy for prevention of sudden death in heart failure patients Philadelphia, PA, January 25, 2017 – The implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), a primary prevention device therapy, can help save the lives of patients suffering from heart failure or following a heart attack. Specialized heart function clinics often refer patients for implantation of this device, but a new report in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology indicates that a significant proportion of patients at clinics in both rural and urban geographic locations were not referred and that this disparity was greater among patients in rural locations. Furthermore, the patient referral refusal and death rates were higher in rural areas. “In our study of specialized heart function clinics, mortality rates were compared between patients who refused referral or refused an ICD to those patients who were found to be...
