The Libin Cardiovascular Institute is an entity of
Alberta Health Services
Alberta Health Services (AHS) is the single Health regions of Canada, health authority for the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta and the "largest integrated provincial health care system" in Canada. Headquartered ...
and the
University of Calgary
{{Infobox university
, name = University of Calgary
, image = University of Calgary coat of arms without motto scroll.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
, former ...
. It connects all cardiovascular research, education and patient care in Southern Alberta, serving a population of about two million. Its more than 1,500 members include physicians, clinicians and other health professionals, researchers and trainees.
The Libin Cardiovascular Institute was made possible through the donation of founding donors Mona and
Alvin Libin.
On March 6, 2003, the Alvin and Mona Libin Foundation presented $15 million to Alberta Health Services and the University of Calgary to form the Libin Cardiovascular Institute. It was then the largest one-time donation to the organizations. The institute was formally created on January 27, 2004.
The Foundation renewed their commitment to the Institute in May 2022 with
$7.5 million donation
Research
Research within the Libin Cardiovascular Institute extends from basic biomedical and clinical research to health outcomes and care delivery research. Notable successes include:
* A global change in treatment of
arrhythmia
Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, are irregularities in the cardiac cycle, heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. Essentially, this is anything but normal sinus rhythm. A resting heart rate that is too fast – ab ...
as a result of trials led by
D. George Wyse.
* APPROACH database and Heart Alert
* Innovative STEMI protocol resulting in mean time to
Percutaneous Coronary Intervention
Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is a minimally invasive non-surgical procedure used to treat stenosis, narrowing of the coronary artery, coronary arteries of the heart found in coronary artery disease. The procedure is used to place and ...
of a commendable 62 minutes
* 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.
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.
* Highest 30-day
myocardial infarction
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
survival rate in Canada according to the
Canadian Institute for Health Information
Education
Programs under the jurisdiction of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute include
Cardiology
Cardiology () is the study of the heart. Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery di ...
and
Cardiovascular Surgery, in addition to contributions to other medical programs as well as graduate studies in the sciences.
The LCI also offers fellowships and/or advanced training in
interventional cardiology
Interventional cardiology is a branch of cardiology that deals specifically with the catheter based treatment of structural heart diseases. Andreas Gruentzig is considered the father of interventional cardiology after the development of angioplast ...
,
, amyloidosis, heart function and
cardiac MRI.
Sites
The Libin Cardiovascular Institute 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) contains a new hub for the Libin Cardiovascular Institute's basic scientists. The space, co-located on the same campus as the
Foothills Medical Centre, opened in June 2009. 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
Alberta Children's Hospital (ACH) is a children's hospital located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and operated by the Calgary Health Region of Alberta Health Services.
It originally opened on May 19, 1922 as the Junior Red Cross Children's Hospital ...
Notable people
*
Eldon Smith OC,
FRCPC - Officer of the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...
, 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.
*
D. George Wyse MD,
FRCPC,
PHD
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
- Professor Emeritus, University of Calgary
*
Alvin Libin LLD- Officer of the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...
, Member of the
Alberta Order of Excellence, Chair of the Libin Foundation
* Dr. Todd Anderson, MD, FRCPC, former director of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute and dean of the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary.
* Dr. Paul Fedak, MD, PHD, director of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute, cardiac surgeon, translational scientist, and senior medical leader at the University of Calgary.
Libin/AHFMR Prize in Cardiovascular Research
The Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR) Prize for Excellence in Cardiovascular Research was established in honour of Mr. Alvin Libin for his many contributions to the AHFMR (now
Alberta Innovates).
This $25,000 prize is awarded to an outstanding international researcher whose work has had a major impact on the understanding, prevention, recognition, or treatment of cardiovascular disease.
Past winners include:
* 2019 Robert Califf
* 2018 Christine Seidman
* 2016
Eric N. Olson
* 2012
Eric Topol
* 2010 A. John Camm
* 2008
Valentín Fuster
* 2006
The Texas Heart Institute James T. Willerson
* 2004
Eugene Braunwald
References
Sources and external links
Libin Cardiovascular Institute- official web-site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Libin Cardiovascular Institute
Magnetic resonance imaging
Medical and health organizations based in Alberta
Cardiac electrophysiology
Heart disease organizations
University of Calgary