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The University of Edmonton Hospital Foundation (UHF) and Alberta Health Services (AHS) are collaborating to launch a pilot project aimed at preventing heart disease.

The initiative, called Heartways, is a collaborative partnership between AHS, UHF and Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada to develop strategies to prevent heart disease, specifically atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Use shared datasets on Albertans.

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“Our goal is to provide the best care to Albertans,” said the University Hospitals Foundation. President and CEO Jody Abbott spoke during a press conference Wednesday at the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute. “Did you know there are over 400,000 Albertans living with secondary cardiovascular disease? That’s a huge number. We are working with our partners to strengthen secondary prevention efforts by supporting care teams in uncontrolled patients with known and treatable cholesterol levels. ”

Mr Abbott said the project would be a “catalyst to bridge innovation beyond the hospital corridors and into the community”. The Heartways strategy has already been pilot tested. At hospitals and pharmacies in Sherwood Park, Calgary, Lethbridge and Grande Prairie, health care workers at pilot sites are working to introduce and refine so-called patient-centered care.

The testing clinics will initially treat approximately 2,500 patients, with more patients expected to arrive over the next 12 months, according to a news release.

“Patients are actually alive and primarily managed by primary care,” said Rick Ward of Crowfoot Village Family Practice. “You think there’s a concept that if you do things right in primary care, it’s good for the system and it’s good for the patients. So the University Hospitals Foundation and Novartis, in partnership with the government and AHS, Supporting primary care efforts to improve outpatient outcomes is very visionary.

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“We learned too late that plaque buildup cannot be reversed,” Gary Semenuk, strategic clinical network patient advisor at AHS, said at a press conference. seminyuk A heart attack survivor himself, he added, “If I hadn’t had the heart attack, I wouldn’t be here today.”

He said the experience gave him greater perspective on how preventable heart diseases like ASCVD are.

“They can only be prevented. And this pilot program will provide easier access to experts to help Albertans manage and control their cholesterol and lipid profiles.”

rostad@postmedia.com

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