Heart to Heart

Heart to Heart: Spotlight on Canadian Innovations in Heart Failure Management

There are many innovations taking place in Canada to enhance heart failure patient care from coast to coast. Watch Dr. Abhinav Sharma discuss with various Canadian experts about innovative protocols or initiatives that they have led and instituted to improve outcomes for patients with heart failure and ensure that their treatments are truly optimized. This series of short interviews will provide you with some insights into what your peers are doing to modernize heart failure care across the country.

Listen to the interviews on-the-go by searching Heart to Heart: Canadian Cardiology in the Spotlight on Apple podcasts and Spotify!

This program is made possible by support from Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc.

Dr. Justin Ezekowitz: Alberta Provincial Heart Failure Pathway

In this episode, Dr. Abhinav Sharma interviews Dr. Justin Ezekowitz, Co-Director of the Canadian Vigour Centre and Director of Cardiovascular Research at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. Dr. Ezekowitz presents the Alberta Provincial Heart Failure Pathway, which aims to equalize HF care and improve treatment and outcomes.

October 14, 2020

Dr. Robert McKelvie: Canadian Cardiovascular Society Heart Failure Quality Indicators

In this episode, Dr. Abhinav Sharma interviews Dr. Robert McKelvie, Cardiologist at St-Joseph’s Health Care and Professor at Western University in London, Ontario. Dr. McKelvie presently chairs the Canadian Cardiovascular Society Heart Failure Quality Indicators working group and is here to tell us more about how standardization and enhancements to knowledge infrastructure are essential to provide the comprehensive patient data necessary to evaluate the quality of HF care across Canada.

Click here for more information about the initiative.

October 7, 2020

Dr. Jeff Healey: Integrated ICD and Heart Failure Clinic

In this episode, Dr. Abhinav Sharma interviews Dr. Jeff Healey, Director of Arrhythmia Services at Hamilton Health Sciences and Chair in Cardiology Research at the Population Health Research Institute in Hamilton. Dr. Healey presents the benefits of integrating ICD and heart failure clinics, and his experience with this model at Hamilton Health Sciences Centre.

September 30, 2020

Morgan Krauter, NP: The Key Role of the Nurse Practitioner in Heart Failure Care

In this episode, Dr. Abhinav Sharma interviews Morgan Krauter, Heart Function Nurse Practitioner at Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket. Morgan talks about how integrating a nurse practitioner in your heart failure care team can significantly improve the care that patients will receive, and in turn improve their outcome and quality of life.

September 23, 2020

Dr. Lisa Mielniczuk: HFrEF Patient Discharge Hospital Protocol

In this episode, Dr. Abhinav Sharma interviews Dr. Lisa Mielniczuk, Director of the Advanced Heart Failure Program at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. Dr. Mielniczuk presents her HFrEF patient discharge hospital protocol, which aims to optimize the care of heart failure patients before and after discharge.

September 16, 2020

Dr. Anique Ducharme: Medication Continuum Initiative

In this episode, Dr. Abhinav Sharma interviews Dr. Anique Ducharme, Director of the Heart Failure Clinic at the Montreal Heart Institute. Dr. Ducharme presents the medication continuum initiative she spearheaded at MHI, which helps ensure all patients are treated using best practices and evidence-based therapies, ultimately improving patient outcomes.

Click here for more information about the initiative.

September 9, 2020

Dr. Stephanie Poon: CHFS Heart Failure Admission Order Set

In this episode, Dr. Abhinav Sharma interviews Dr. Stephanie Poon, Medical Co-Director of the Heart Function and Rapid Cardiology Assessment Clinic at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. Dr. Poon presents the new CHFS Heart Failure Admission Order Set.

For more information click here on how to implement the Order Set in your center.

September 2, 2020