Research News

Dr. Andrew Demchuk wins Mentorship Award

Past Chair of the HSFA Board of Directors and current HSFA funded researcher, Dr. Andrew Demchuk should be very proud of his recent recognition.  Dr. Demchuk, head of the Calgary Stroke Program, is the 2009 winner of the Canadian Stroke Network’s Paul Morley Mentorship Award. The prestigious $25,000 prize recognizes an individual who has provided exceptional mentorship to the next generation of stroke specialists. Dr. Demchuk was applauded for his work in recruiting and training stroke fellows from Canada and around the world.

Dr. Gregory Cairncross, head of clinical neurosciences at the University of Calgary, gives deserving praise to Dr. Demchuk, saying "...he communicates his unending passion for exemplary patient care and his belief in the importance of research. People come from all over the world to train with Demchuk". Congratulations Dr. Demchuk!

Saving Time Saves Lives

In a heart attack, time is the enemy; every minute without treatment means more damage to the heart and greater risk of death. A research team in Edmonton has found a new way to advance care of the most deadly type of heart attacks, acute ST elevation myocardial infarctions (STEMI).

Dr. Paul Armstrong, senior cardiologist at the University Hospital in Edmonton and a professor at the University of Alberta, looked to Europe for inspiration to ensure that heart attack patients received the best care even before they arrived at the emergency department.

Dr. Armstrong’s research, a collaboration that began in 2000 with Dr. Robert Welsh and others in Edmonton, trained paramedics to do a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) of the heart. In this way, the earliest point of care could begin to address the problem immediately rather than just transporting the patient to a busy ER. Using a cell phone, the paramedics could send the results of the ECG to an on-call cardiologist’s laptop to confirm the diagnosis.

When a positive STEMI result is identified, the paramedic gives a clot-busting drug to restore normal heart function in just minutes. "Time is muscle, and muscle is life. That’s the algorithm that we work on," said Dr. Armstrong.

This work has led to better treatment options for the city of Edmonton. It has also provided a new understanding of how ECGs can help health care professionals determine how much time has transpired since a patient's heart attack and the extent of damage that has already occurred in the heart. This information helps physicians determine how best to treat the patient. In fact, Dr. Armstrong has found preliminary evidence, to be followed up in future studies, that treatment within the first hour after a STEMI heart attack can actually stop the irreversible damage to the heart muscle that makes heart attacks so deadly.

Dr. Paul Armstrong will be a Special Guest at Ski for Heart in Jasper on February 5 - 7, 2010. 
Click here for more information.    

Dr. Paul Armstrong continues to conduct world-class research and influence the future of cardiac research as the Founding Director of TORCH (Tomorrow's Research Cardiovascular Health professionals). TORCH is a strategic training program initiative in Alberta, and although Dr. Armstrong has turned over the Director role, he graciously shares his expertise as an advisor and mentor to new researchers in the program, ensuring that cardiac care and research here at home remains among the best in the world.