Specialty cardiac care began to develop in the 1950s with Dr. Harold Rice who is renowned for the development of the heart-lung pump.

In 1958, Dr. Doris Kavanaugh started the first cardiac catheterization lab and in 1960, St. Paul’s first open-heart surgery was performed on a twelve-year old girl. In 1963, the first triple valve replacement in Canada (third internationally) was performed at St. Paul’s Hospital. These successes have continued with a number of other national and international firsts including the current investigational valve program.

In the 1970s, the Pulmonary Research lab was founded by Drs. Jim Hogg and Peter Paré who were immediately successful at accessing federal and provincial grant dollars for their research. Also in the ‘70’s, pace maker services became accessible and the other cardiac programs at SPH began to take shape. In the 1980s the first angioplasty was performed at St. Paul’s and the cardiac surgical ward was expanded to 34 beds, four of which were equipped with cardiac monitors.

In the early 1990s we recruited two interventionists and opened a second cath lab that helped set the stage for the dramatic growth that followed. With the transfer of different programs to St. Paul’s Hospital, the Heart Centre was created. The heart transplant program was relocated from Vancouver General Hospital to St. Paul’s along with a transfer of 300 heart surgical procedures. Also, the Healthy Heart program/ Lipid Clinic and the Pacific Adult Congenital Hearth (PACH) clinic moved to SPH from Shaughnessy Hospital.

As we entered a new millennium, the Heart Centre pushed more boundaries by building a ventricular assist device (VAD) program to bridge transplant patients until a heart becomes available. Minimally invasive coronary artery bypass (MIDCAB) surgery was also introduced.

The growth of the Heart Center, and the challenges it takes on, continues today. We have pioneered percutaneous valve implants and obtained funding to open Canada’s first Metabolic Syndrome Clinic. In 2005-06, the Heart Centre opened another cardiac procedure room and a new electrophysiology lab.

The cardiac short stay area and ambulatory clinics were expanded on the 5th floor of the Providence Building to allow for shared support personnel and better access for patients. And to better serve these patients, the Heart Centre will introduce Canada’s most comprehensive, hospital-based website containing patient-focused information about all of our procedures.