Cardiac Care Campaign

VIEW DONATION PHOTOS >>

The Cardiac Care Campaign will improve cardiac care in the Regional Health Centre. The key piece of equipment for that will be an echocardiogram machine. The health region does not have this machine because the government will not purchase it, but the health region and The Health Foundation have determined we need one. It costs about $240,000.

An echocardiogram uses sound waves to create a picture of the heart. The recorded waves show the shape, texture and movement of your heart valves, as well as the size of your heart chambers and how well they are working.

Cardiovascular disease accounts for the death of more men and women in Saskatchewan than any other disease. But, heart disease is preventable and manageable. Better diagnostic equipment assists medical specialist to make complete and accurate diagnosis of the patient’s condition, and determine the best treatment for the condition.

A good echocardiogram machine can display a cross-sectional “slice” of the beating heart, including the chambers, valves and the major blood vessels that exit from the left and right ventricles.

An echocardiogram is used to:

• Determine the size of the chambers of the heart, including the dimensions of the cavity and the thickness of the walls;
• Detect heart problems, including a recent or ongoing heart attack, coronary artery blockage, areas of damaged heart muscle, enlargement of the heart, and inflammation of the sac surrounding the heart;
• Determine the pumping strength of the heart and each chamber of the heart, and, if the heart is pumping poorly identify why;
• Monitor recovery from a heart attack, progression of heart disease, or the effectiveness of certain heart medications or a pacemaker; and,
• Find out how well the hearts valves are functioning, including identifying the thickness and movement of each valve. It can determine if the valve is normal, scarred, infected, calcified, or torn which the doctor needs to know to properly determine a course of treatment.

The health region doesn't have this equipment, but it is necessary. Heart disease is a major problem in the health region and as the population ages, it is only going to become bigger.

Echocardiogram isn’t the only equipment needed to properly set up cardiac care in the intensive care unit, but it is the right place to start.

The health centre has four doctors who are specialists in internal medicine or cardiology, but they don't have the equipment they need to be able to do their jobs fully. We need to give them good equipment so they can be the best doctors they can be.

It’s in the best interest of all residents to give them the tools they need, because the people who benefit are their patients: ourselves, our friends and family.