An electrical issue with your car can be a significant inconvenience; the wait to have it fixed can be anywhere from a couple of days to a few weeks.
Now imagine living with a life-threatening electrical abnormality of the heart, like atrial fibrillation, and the anxiety of waiting up to almost six months before having a life-altering procedure to fix your irregular heartbeat. Unfortunately, this is the reality today for an increasing number of patients from across the province requiring a pacemaker, defibrillator, or catheter ablation procedure at Royal University Hospital’s Electrophysiology (EP) Lab that opened in 2012.
Cardiologist and cardiac electrophysiologist Dr. Chris Pekrul and his colleagues currently perform about 1,000 procedures a year in the EP Lab. They wish they could do more, but they need your help to do that.
“There is an urgent need to replace the aging and outdated technology and equipment we are using today if we want to address the steadily rising need for the life-altering procedures we provide in the EP Lab,” says Dr. Pekrul.
“Your generosity will enable us to increase the number of procedures we can do, decrease the time patients spend in the EP Lab, lower medical imaging radiation doses used during procedures, and introduce new treatment options for our patients.”
One of those new treatment options is pulsed-field ablation, a revolutionary minimally invasive procedure used to treat atrial fibrillation, the most common form of cardiac arrhythmia.
“Thanks to donor support, we will be able to provide our patients here in Saskatchewan with a remarkable leading-edge procedure that is only available in a handful of hospitals in Canada,” says Dr. Pekrul. “Pulsed-field ablation is a lot more efficient and reduces risks associated with traditional heating and freezing methods in fixing short-circuiting electrical flows in the heart.”
Royal University Hospital Foundation has pledged to raise $4 million this year to upgrade the EP Lab. This support is part of a broader multi-million dollar initiative aimed at transforming RUH’s minimally invasive cardiac interventional services. This project includes replacing outdated technology and equipment in the oldest of the hospital’s two cardiac catheterization units.
“Thanks to the generosity of donors, our patients will continue having access to the most advanced cardiac care technology and equipment in the province and nationwide,” says cardiologist Dr. Jason Orvold, Medical Director for the hospital’s Cardiac Interventional Suite. “Donor support, no matter the amount, enables us to continue providing our patients with the life-saving care they require close to home here at RUH.”
The creation of the EP Lab in 2012 and support for advanced training for its original two specialists, Drs. Kelly Coverett and Carlo Stuglin who trained at the Foothills Hospital in Calgary, were funded by RUH Foundation and donors like you.
Dr. Pekrul, born in Regina and a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Medicine, is grateful to the Foundation for its foresight in helping create the EP program at RUH and funding young cardiologists like him in acquiring his sub-specialty skills. He adds that Foundation support in transforming the EP Lab will have a vital role in continuing a history of successful recruitment of others to RUH.
“The advancements in patient care that will result because of our new leading-edge technology and equipment is vital in continuing a legacy that will inspire the next generation of cardiologists to select Saskatoon and RUH as the place to live and work.”
To support Drs. Pekrul, Orvold, Pearce, and their colleagues in delivering our province’s most specialized life-saving cardiac care, please donate today or call the Foundation office at 306.655.1984.
Read more inspiring stories in our Fall 2024 Milestones or make your donation now.
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