Health officials provided a significant update on heart and stroke care in the province yesterday.
It’s estimated one in three of us will deal with one or the other in our lifetime.
To that end, the province is introducing a new surgical procedure and added use of stroke-related drugs—both designed to clear blood clots.
Health Minister Tom Osborne and Dr. Pat Parfrey
A third measure involves expanding the use of virtual appointments, with drug management, for those prone to heart failure.
Add to that the 16th so-called Heart Force One flight occurred this week, and there’s a new, renowned doctor from Belgium taking over as cardiac clinical chief.
Dr. Sean Connors, a cardiologist with the provincial Cardiovascular and Stroke Program, is over the moon with the work being done.
“I’ve been at this a long time, and this is transformative,” he said. “I’ve never felt this kind of input, focus and progress in the care of, I think, the most important disease process that we have affecting our patients here in Newfoundland and Labrador.”
Dr. Sean Connors
Connors says he’s already seeing the positive results and he’s excited about further improvements in the system.
“We’re looking at pre-hab and re-hab, if you’re waiting for heart surgery, well why not have a program where we talk to you, we make you healthier, we tell you that your surgeon wants you in the best possible health when you come in.”
To top it all off, the province announced one year ago that a new Cardiovascular and Stroke Institute would be built on the Health Sciences Centre site in St. John’s.
Osborne could not give an estimate yesterday as to when construction might start or when the facility could open.
