Victoria's hospital is now among five in the province taking part in a study aiming to prevent a notable heart disease.
Royal Jubilee Hospital (RJH) is now home to a program called the Study to Avoid Cardiovascular Events in British Columbia, or SAVE BC.
Thanks to a $320,000 donation from Al and Eileen Gilchrist, the SAVE BC program will look to help patients, families and health-care professionals identify, treat and prevent premature atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD).
RJH cardiologist Dr. Chris Franco said SAVE BC will be offered to at-risk populations such as family members of those diagnosed with CVD.
“With cardiac care getting more complicated, complex and demanding over time, our goal as caregivers is to deliver the very best care we can, at the very earliest time we can," Franco said in a news release.
He added the program will alleviate pressure on the health-care system by supporting patients before they need emergent care.
The first Royal Jubilee Hospital patient accessed SAVE BC in September and those participating will contribute data that will look to improve the diagnosis and treatment of early-onset CVD, which is considered a leading cause of death in Canada and around the globe.
Carlos Gomez, the program's inaugural Victoria patient, required care at RJH after he had an early onset heart attack symptoms that required two stents. With a history of high cholesterol in his family, he hopes the research will help identify CVD in young people.
"Knowledge is power and comfort. It is important for me, and for my two children who are 24 and nine-years-old, to understand why I developed cardiac care issues before my fortieth birthday," Gomez said in the release. "My hope is that by working with Dr. Franco, and a pool of people that have similar experiences, I can support my children and their friends in the future, before they even face cardiac issues."
The Gilchrist donation was made through the Victoria Hospitals Foundation to bring the program to Vancouver Island.
"Bringing the SAVE BC program to Victoria allows our local physicians to better share in, and enhance, their toolkit of knowledge for cardiac care," donors Al and Eileen said in the news release. "Increasing research-based information of premature heart disease will help patients, their families, and our community at large."
