Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta

Coordinates: 51°03′55″N 114°08′06″W / 51.0654°N 114.135°W / 51.0654; -114.135

Atrium on the Health Sciences Campus

The Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta is a partnership between Alberta Health Services and the University of Calgary. Its mandate comprises all cardiovascular research, education and service delivery, with a service area extending from Saskatchewan, Southern Alberta and Eastern British Columbia. The Institute coordinates the activities of 1,500 individuals in Southern Alberta. Of its approximately 150 research and clinician members, over 65 are cardiologists, making it the largest heart or cardiovascular institute in Western Canada by that measure.

Individuals affiliated with the Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta have provided significant leadership and input to the Canadian Heart Health Strategy and Action Plan (CHHS-AP). Institute participation included Eldon Smith OC, MD, FRCPC who was appointed as Chair of the Steering Committee by the Federal Canadian Minister of Health in 2006, as well as Norman Campbell MD, FRCPC, also a member of the CHHS-AP Steering Committee.^[1]

Research

Research within the Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta extends from basic biomedical and clinical research to health outcomes and care delivery research. Notable successes include:

• A global change in treatment of arrhythmia as a result of trials led by D. George Wyse.^[2]
• APPROACH database and Heart Alert
• Innovative STEMI protocol resulting in mean time to Percutaneous Coronary Intervention of a commendable 62 minutes^[3]
• Stephenson Cardiovascular MR Centre, ranking first internationally among CMR centres as measured by research impact factor points, and ranking first in North America among CMR centres as measured by volume of patient studies - a recent publication documented for the first time, the imaging of salvaged heart muscle as a result of a post-MI Intervention.^[4] To date, a White Paper on myocarditis with lead author Dr. Matthias Friedrich of the Stephenson CMR Centre, is the only White Paper ever published by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.^[5][6]
• Highest 30-day myocardial infarction survival rate in Canada^[7] according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information

Education

Programs under the jurisdiction of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta include Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery, in addition to contributions to other medical programs as well as graduate studies in the sciences.

The LCIA also offers fellowships and/or advanced training in interventional cardiology, electrophysiology, heart function and cardiac MRI.

Services

The Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta provides the following services:

• Nursing Units and Diagnostics - Cardiovascular patient services at Calgary area hospitals and private practices.
• Interventional Cardiology - Catheter based treatments of structural heart disease.
• The University of Calgary's Department of Cardiac Sciences - Research of the cardiovascular system.
• Stephenson Cardiovascular MR Centre - Diagnostic facility dedicated exclusively to Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (CMR).

Sites

University of Calgary's HRIC building

The Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta is a wide-ranging program of cardiovascular integration which houses a growing list of scientists, clinicians, and researchers from various sites working together to advance the cardiovascular health of Albertans.

• Health Research Innovation Centre (HRIC) ^[8] contains a new hub for the Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta's basic scientists. The space, co-located on the same campus as the Foothills Medical Centre, opened in June 2009.^[9] It is interesting to note that elements of different University of Calgary Institutes occupy the various floors / areas in this building, as to encourage research integration.
• HRIC Teaching Research & Wellness Building (TRW), opened in Q3 of 2009, houses scientists focused on translational research. Directly connected to the primary area of HRIC, the spaces have been constructed to encourage interaction between basic and clinical researchers.
• South Health Campus, a $1.5B project completed in 2013, offers a full suite of services relating to cardiovascular health.
• Rockyview General Hospital
• Peter Lougheed Centre
• Alberta Children's Hospital

Notable personalities

• Eldon Smith OC, MD, FRCPC - Officer of the Order of Canada,^[10] penultimate Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, Chair of the steering committee responsible for developing a new Heart Health Strategy to fight heart disease in Canada.^[11][12]
• L. Brent Mitchell MD, FRCPC - Director, LCIA, Professor, University of Calgary
• Jonathan Lytton PHD - Research Director, LCIA, Professor, University of Calgary
• David Lau MD, PHD - Professor, University of Calgary, President of Obesity Canada^[13] and Chair of the Diabetes and Endocrine Research Group
• Norman Campbell MD, FRCPC - Professor, University of Calgary and Canada Research Chair in Hypertension Prevention and Control^[14]
• Merril Knudtson MD, FRCPC - Professor, University of Calgary
• D. George Wyse MD, FRCPC, PHD - Professor Emeritus, University of Calgary
• William Ghali MD, MPH - Professor, University of Calgary, Canada Research Chair in Health Services Research, Buchanan Chair in General Internal Medicine, Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research Health Scholar, Research Director for APPROACH.
• Anne M. Gillis MD, FRCPC - Professor, University of Calgary, Director of Cardiac Pacing and Electrophysiology, 2nd Vice-Presicent, Heart Rhythm Society (will become President in 2012, only the 2nd Canadian in the society's history to reach that level)
• Alvin Libin OC - Officer of the Order of Canada,^[15] Member of the Alberta Order of Excellence,^[16] Chair of the Libin Foundation
• Michael Walsh PHD - Professor, University of Calgary, Canada Research Chair in Vascular Smooth Muscle, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada^[17]

Libin/AHFMR Prize in Cardiovascular Research

• 2008 Valentin Fuster^[18]
• 2006 James T. Willerson^[19]
• 2004 Eugene Braunwald

References

Sources and external links

• Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta - official web-site
• Hearts, Minds & Vision: Roots of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta - official publication (2012 Kingsley Publishing)
• Libin Institute blog
• University of Calgary
• Canadian Heart Health Strategy and Action Plan
• Reach! - fund raising campaign of the Calgary Health Trust and the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary