Overview
Cardiology and vascular disease researchers at London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute (LHSCRI) focus on gaining a greater understanding of diseases of the heart and blood vessels, including coronary heart disease, stroke and heart failure. They study new diagnostic methods, treatments and surgical approaches to advance patient outcomes through research.
Research Groups
Our researchers strive for excellence and innovation in cardiology care, cardiac surgery and vascular surgery.
Cardiology research aligns directly to patient care and includes the following:
- Cardiac catheterization and percutaneous coronary intervention;
- Structural heart disease procedures;
- Advanced heart failure management;
- Cardiac transplantation;
- Adult congenital heart disease;
- Pregnancy management;
- Cardiac rehabilitation;
- Cardiac electrophysiology/arrhythmia management with remote care options, including pacemaker, implantable cardioverter-defibrillators, cardiac resynchronization therapy and ablation procedures for atrial, ventricular and supra-ventricular arrhythmias; and
- Full non-invasive cardiac diagnostic services including electrocardiogram, ambulatory monitoring, stress testing, echocardiography and advanced cardiac imaging.
The Division of Cardiac Surgery has a long tradition of innovative research in transplantation, arrhythmia surgery and, more recently, minimal access and robotic surgery. Preclinical studies are carried out in the Canadian Surgical Technologies & Advanced Robotics (CSTAR) unit within the Lindros Legacy Research Pavilion at LHSC’s University Hospital.
The Division of Cardiac Surgery also has a dedicated clinical research infrastructure, with research associates and a mature clinical database that facilitates the conduct of retrospective and prospective cohort studies. Members of our division have served on editorial boards and as an Associate Editor of major cardiothoracic surgical publications, regularly publish the results of our research in peer-reviewed journals and frequently present at national and international meetings.
The clinical program of vascular surgery is located at LHSC’s Victoria Hospital and is dedicated to excellence and leadership in patient care, education and research. Both clinical and laboratory-based science are pursued by researchers and vascular surgeons.
Research areas in cardiac and vascular surgery include:
- Mitral valve repair;
- Thoracic aortic aneurysm;
- Ischemic cardiomyopathy;
- CT angiography;
- Vein graft stenoses; and
- Postoperative bleeding management.