| Home • Major Areas of Care |
A highly integrated approach is the basis of the clinical and research excellence at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre. Unique specialties and areas of strength define the breadth, depth and scope of the program.
The main components and priorities of the Centre are detailed below. |
Adult Congenital Heart Disease
Deemed “a world model”by the National Institutes of Health, the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program at Peter Munk Cardiac Centre is the largest – and oldest – program of its kind in the world and acts as a key referral centre in North America for complex congenital heart cases, accepting patients from across Canada and the United States. In addition to clinical services, specialized and multidisciplinary care is provided for high-risk pregnancies, psychosocial needs, counseling and therapy, assessment of transplants and preventative care.
» top |
 |
Cardiac Care & Heart Health
Research has demonstrated that the risk of cardiac complications can be greatly reduced by educating patients on risk reduction measures. These include incorporating lifestyle changes, such as healthier eating and exercise habits along with appropriate drug strategies that curb the worsening of heart problems while improving overall health and well being.This clinic brings together healthcare professionals to provide specialized care and track patient’s conditions through cardiac evaluation, rapid treatment and rehabilitation services.
» top |
|
Cardiac Regenerative Medicine
UHN is home to the largest Cardiac Regenerative Medicine research program in Canada. Physicians and scientists are growing heart cells in test tubes and inside biomaterials with the goal of surgically injecting cells to regenerate or patch-up damaged areas of the heart, or grow entirely new hearts for patients. The Peter Munk Cardiac Centre has an international reputation in the treatment of valvular heart disease.
» top |
|
Cardiovascular Surgery Valve Repair & Replacement
Almost every month, specialists from around the world and biotech firms visit Toronto to watch our specialists operate and learn about surgical techniques in the replacement and repair of various heart valves.Dr.Tirone David invented and named the “St. Jude Toronto Valve” that has been implanted in more than 20,000 patients to date. We have used this reputation todevelop a unique and leading-edge program in percutaneous (through the skin) and other non-surgical valve procedures.
» top |
|
Electrical Disorders & Sudden Cardiac Death
Peter Munk Cardiac Centre specialists provide cutting-edge care to patients with complex electrical disorders. Much of the research within the program is aimed at understanding, treating and curing arrhythmias (irregular heart beat). Currently, the electrophysiology laboratory includes technology that monitors electrical activity in the heart and provides three-dimensional imaging of the heart and its vessels.
» top |
|
Heart Failure
As a quaternary treatment facility, the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre is dedicated to furthering research into the detection, prevention, and treatment of heart failure, and treating heart failure through drug therapy, mechanical interventions and eventually transplantation.
» top
|
|
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is caused by an abnormal growth in the heart muscle and often results in a change in the thickness and shape of the heart, obstructing the overall functioning of the heart and ultimately resulting in sudden death, heart failure, and stroke. The HCM Program at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre is engaged in groundbreaking research involving the identification and treatment of family members at genetic risk of developing HCM through gene therapy – and other specialized interventions.
» top
|
|
Interventional Cardiology & Cardiac Catheterization
Interventional cardiology is an important part of treatment for patients with disease of the heart, blood vessels or coronary artery disease.These treatments involve “intervening” to open blocked or clogged arteries to improve blood flow to and from the heart.The Peter Munk Cardiac Centre is on the leading edge of interventional techniques for patients with heart disease and performs more than 2,100 coronary interventions and 300 congenital interventions every year.These procedures are performed in a specialized environment called a cardiac catheterization laboratory (or “cath lab”), which is often at the front line of critical heart therapy.
» top
|
|
Mechanical Heart Program
Many patients with sudden or longstanding heart failure die while waiting for a transplant. In many cases, these deaths, otherwise preventable through heart transplantation, occur because of a shortage of suitable heart donors. However, commercially available devices – including the Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) or mechanical heart – can support a failing heart for months or years until its function recovers or until a donor heart is available for transplantation. The Peter Munk Cardiac Centre has the largest program in Canada dedicated to support patients with end-stage heart failure through the use of mechanical hearts and by performing heart transplants.
» top |
|
Vascular Surgery
The Peter Munk Cardiac Centre is renowned for advanced surgical interventions in the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms (an area of widening of the aorta), and carotid dissections (when a carotid artery develops a tear in its lining, and the blood flow causes the layers of the vessel to separate); as well as performing carotid endarterectomies (surgery that removes harmful plaque from carotid arteries). Our specialists have developed and perfected innovative techniques and studied vascular problems in critical cases.The research findings have not only advanced our knowledge of the origins and consequences of vascular disease, but have also shaped the way vascular surgeons everywhere treat serious peripheral vascular disease.
» top |
|
|
