Energizer® Night Race™ to support Libin

On August 13, 2011, light up the night to raise funds for the Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta at the Energizer® Night Race™, a night run that you’ll never forget. Participants will run through Glenmore Park to create a moving celebration of light – a celebration that will continue at the post-race party. Funds raised for the Institute, via the Calgary Health Trust, will help to support research and education programs in our ongoing work in the area of cardiovascular risk assessment and prevention.

Visit the Calgary Health Trust web-page to learn more about the race including the 10K and 5K run/walk options, and details about registration.

Libin Ski’s for Heart in 2011

Since 1976 the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Alberta, NWT and Nunavut has hosted an annual Ski for Heart event to raise funds to help eliminate heart and stroke disease. For 2011 this event will be taking place in Lake Louise Alberta from January 28-30 and the Libin Institute would like to invite you to come join in the fun!

Libin team captain Israel Belenkie with Regional HSF CEO Diana Krescy at the 2010 Ski for Heart

We invite you, your family and friends to come and take advantage of the all of the amazing winter recreation activities the Rockies offer. Head out for some skiing, snowshoeing, hiking or skating. Pamper your body and soul at the spa with a massage and facial. Join the kids in their special activities, like the ever popular, Explorer Camp. You can enter to win great prizes and you’ll meet other people dedicated to the vision of the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Join the Libin team now! Visit the Website to learn more.

See other HSF posts on the Libin Institute blog.

World Heart Day 2010

September 26 has been designated as World Heart Day 2010 by the World Heart Federation. The official World Heart Day web-site describes this day as follows:

World Heart Day was created to inform people around the globe that heart disease and stroke are the world’s leading cause of death, claiming 17.1 million lives each year.

Libin Institute Advisory Board Chair, Dr. Eldon R. Smith, Professor Emeritus at the University of Calgary, was extensively quoted in a substantial article in the Calgary Herald on this topic:

No matter where you’re from, up to 80 per cent of heart attacks are preventable by modifying nine risk factors, including smoking, abnormal cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure, stress, abdominal obesity, sedentary lifestyle, eating too few fruits and vegetables and abstaining from alcohol.

In the same spirit as World Heart Day, the Libin Institute has organized a vascular health promotion conference on October 21, 2010. You can read more about this major conference at: Taming the Vascular Epidemic

You can read the rest of Dr. Smith’s comments and article on the Calgary Herald web-site.

You can read more about World Heart Day on the official World Heart Day web-site.

2010 HSF Report on Canadians’ Health

A PERFECT STORM

of Heart Disease Looming on our Horizon
January 25, 2010

Report excerpts:

The signs of this impending crisis are clearly evident. Between 1994 and 2005, rates of high blood pressure among Canadians skyrocketed by 77%, diabetes by 45% and obesity by 18% — affecting both younger and older Canadians. Moreover, even younger age groups are experiencing increases in risk: among those 35 to 49 years of age, for example, the prevalence of high blood pressure increased 127%, diabetes by 64% and obesity by 20% — all major risk factors for heart disease.

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The at-risk and disadvantaged populations in Canada include: the unprecedented growing number of young Canadian adults who are obese and overweight; the largest cohort of Boomers (50 to 64 years) in Canada’s history entering a stage where they are at a higher risk for heart disease; our Aboriginal peoples who are experiencing a full-blown cardiovascular crisis; more women entering their young adult years at higher risk for heart disease, which could overwhelm the healthcare system with an entire new generation of patients; and, some of Canada’s fastest growing ethno-cultural communities who are pre-disposed to a
heavier burden of risk factors and heart disease.

Click the image below for the full report:

For more Heart and Stroke Foundation stories in the blogosphere – click here

In memory of Dr. George Emmerson Miller

Dr. George E. Miller

September 29, 1919 – June 20, 2009

By the time Dr. George Emmerson Miller arrived in Calgary in 1945, he had already received his B.Sc. and MD degrees from the University of Alberta and served as a Captain in the Canadian Medical Corps during World War II. After a period away at the Mayo Clinic he specialized in cardio-thoracic surgery and attended the University of Minnesota obtaining his M.Sc. in surgery, Dr. Miller returned to Calgary in 1956 as the city’s first cardio-thoracic surgeon. Leading the Holy Cross Hospital’s cardiac surgical team, he conducted the first open heart by-pass surgical procedure in the city on October 17 1962. After a long and successful career as a hard-working, skilled and gifted surgeon, a pioneer, leader, and a Professor Emeritus at the University of Calgary, Dr. Miller retired in 1993, but continued to provide volunteer cardiac counseling at the Kerby Centre. In 2002, the City of Calgary honoured this humble, dedicated, kind healer with the Grant MacEwan Lifetime Achievement Award. This award recognized George Miller’s devotion to improving the quality of life of his patients and his significant contributions to his community. Throughout his life he always believed and taught others that: “The patient is number one – the patient is the most important person in the room.”

During an interview with Barbara Kermode-Scott on February 6 2009, for the History of the Cardiovascular Sciences in Southern Alberta project, Dr. Miller shared the following:

“We have come a long, long way since 1957. It has never been dull and there has been some hard slogging against formidable odds. The constant support and faith of Administration helped us achieve excellence… The cardiovascular group at the Holy Cross worked hard for many years…. I can tell you honestly though that I never felt stressed. I never felt tired… I loved it day and night, anytime.”

Calgary will miss you Dr. Miller.

Our condolences to George’s wife, Marilyn, to his children, grand-children and all his other family members.

Latest CIHR Successes

The latest CIHR decision announcement includes four members of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta. Congratulations are in order! Below, we’ve provided ‘the skinny’ of each successful application, but please visit CIHR’s search database for full abstracts.

Dr. Sarah Childs – 1 year

Using a genetic approach in the zebrafish, we have identified two genes that affect whether vessels become arteries or veins, and that allow endothelial cells to migrate. In this proposal, we will elucidate how these genes function and interact with each other.

Dr. Brenda Hemmelgarn – 3 years

This study will determine if differences in cardiac care exist for First Nations compared to non-First Nations people by exploring access to specialized cardiac care and invasive cardiac procedures. It will also begin to address issues of quality of care by looking at differences in markers of quality care aimed at reducing the risk of vascular disease.

Dr. Rodger Loutzenhiser – 5 years

We have developed methods to obtain individual afferent and efferent arterioles and to examine the key biochemical steps regulating vasoconstriction. The initial studies outlined in our proposal will define the differing biochemical pathways regulating function in the afferent and efferent arteriole and will provide a basis for subsequent studies determining how these mechanisms are altered in diabetes and CKD.

Dr. Jonathan Lytton – 1 year

We have recently discovered that when the gene for the K+-dependent Na+/Ca2+-exchanger, NCKX4, is knocked out in mice, the animals are phenotypically normal, healthy and fertile, but are 30% reduced in weight. The experiments proposed here will lead to an in depth understanding of the location and mechanism whereby the NCKX4 protein works to control feeding behaviour and satiety circuits in the brain.