Thanks to two renowned surgeons, BC has become a global leader in heart valve innovation. Structural and interventional cardiologists Dr. David Wood of VGH and Dr. John Webb of St. Paul’s Hospital helped pioneer transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) – an alternative to open heart surgery utilizing minimally invasive heart valve technology.

Currently, it is available only to select high-risk patients. Before it can be come more broadly accessible, comprehensive clinical research must be done. Dr. Wood and a Vancouver-based team are leading a multi-centre national research study of TAVR called 3M – multidisciplinary, multimodality, minimalist. The study looks at select patients who are awake when they undergo TAVR, are typically walking four hours later, and are safely discharged home the following day. Results from the research study will be used to determine whether this procedure is applicable to others beyond high-risk.

Thank you to Dr. Thomas H. C. Cheung and other visionary donors for their generosity in helping advance cardiac care in BC.

“With the help of committed donors, we can make TAVR the new gold standard of care for most patients with a failing aortic valve.” — Dr. David Wood, Structural and Interventional Cardiologist, VGH