For the past ten years, while we have quietly developed one of Canada’s finest heart centres, we have literally saved the lives of thousands of people. All with help from donors like you.
Today, we stand at the edge of renewal and we need your help. After ten years, we are growing our program and the services we provide to our patients. At the same time, technology has allowed for incredible advances in the detection and treatment of heart disease; technology that ensures our patients have access to the best cardiac care anywhere.
Here are our next steps:
3-D Echocardiography
An echocardiogram, often referred to in the medical community as a cardiac ECHO, is a sonogram or ultrasound of the heart that uses standard ultrasound techniques to image two-dimensional slices of the heart.
Improved technology has led to the development of systems that employ 3D real-time imaging. In addition to creating pictures of the cardiovascular system, a 3D echocardiogram can also produce accurate assessment of the velocity of blood and cardiac tissue. This allows assessment of; cardiac valve areas and function, any abnormal communications between the left and right side of the heart, any leaking of blood through the valves. One 3D Echocardiography machine is needed in both Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Cardiac Renewal Project.
Cardiac PACS
PACS stands for Picture Archiving Communication System. At St. Mary’s, all of our diagnostic procedures are captured in a digital format allowing our medical staff the opportunity to call up different tests from different times on virtually any computer in the hospital, or even from their home or office.
With the help of our community, in Phase 1 of our renewal project, our new cardiac PACS system provides enhanced reporting and data management capabilities for echocardiography. Technicians will no longer need to manually record measurements and our cardiologists will be able to digitally dictate their reports leading to a reduction in wait time for diagnostic reporting by 50%.
Cardiac Monitoring
As a regional and tertiary-level cardiac centre, it is imperative that our entire hospital is equipped with bed-side cardiac monitors. These systems measure standard heart information such as rhythm and pressure and are centrally monitored by clinical staff throughout the hospital. This full upgrade of our system, during phase 1 and phase 2 of our Cardiac Renewal Project, allows us to continue to provide advanced cardiac care to patients anywhere in our hospital.
Cardiac Catheterization Camera
At the forefront of our cardiac program is our top-ranked cardiac catheterization and angioplasty program. In our labs, we diagnose heart disease and repair blocked arteries using stents. Last year, we performed over 3,500 of these procedures.
The first camera we purchased in 2001 is nearing the end of its life-cycle and must be replaced by 2012. This imminent need leads Phase 2 of the Cardiac Renewal Project.
Cardiac CT
In 1999, we upgraded our CT (computed tomography) scanner as we set out to increase our overall diagnostic capabilities here at St. Mary’s. Like our cardiac catheterization camera, our current CT technology is reaching the end of its life cycle and will require replacement by 2013 (Phase 3, Cardiac Renewal Project).
When we replace this technology, we plan to upgrade our capacity to offer cardiac CT scans. While early in its adoption, CT technology appears particularly well suited to ruling out cardiac disease in patients because of its rapid and multi-slice viewing capability.
