Patients with heart rhythm disorders will soon be able to get the care they need here in Saskatoon.
In the coming months, Saskatoon will be home to a world class cardiac clinic, thanks to the Every Heart Matters campaign. The goal is to raise $5.5 million. So far, just over $4 million has been raised.
Darren Lefebvre loves to skate at the Meewasin rink. As a former WHL player, he had dreams of playing in the NHL. Those dreams were shattered almost 10 years ago, when, at the age of 17, Lefebvre took a hit on the ice while playing for the Spokane Chiefs.
"It was 10 minutes after that, I collapsed on the bench, went into sudden cardiac arrest. I was pulseless, not breathing."
First responders saved Lefebvre, but life since then hasn't been the same. The hit caused damage to his heart forcing it into a fatal rhythm. Surgeons in Spokane implanted a device which detects the irregularity, shocking the heart back into beat.
It's that kind of life saving technology doctors here in Saskatoon are hoping to provide through a new cardiac electrophysiology lab currently under construction at Royal University Hospital. Currently, space and equipment to detect and treat heart rhythm disorders in Saskatoon is limited, forcing many patients to travel out of province.
Dr. Kelly Coverette is an invasive cardiac electro physiologist. "With a full functioning lab, we'll be able to meet the demands that are out there and impact quality of care by reducing wait times and patients' anxiety about travelling out of province or waiting to have the procedure performed."
Although Lefebvre's initial heart troubles began out of country, he will require care and further procedures in the coming years, and takes comfort in knowing he can receive that kind of care, close to home.
