Five years ago, the largest private gift in Canadian healthcare history came to life. The Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research was spurred by the vision of Ted Rogers Sr., who believed it would take a unique blend of expertise, tools and persistence to solve the disease that took his life in 2008.
Heart failure is one of the world's greatest health challenges. In Canada, it affects at least one million Canadians – a figure that will grow by 25 per cent in the next 20 years. And each year, Canadian hospitals spend more than $3 billion managing the intricate needs of those it affects.
The Rogers family asked: what if an array of multidisciplinary cardiovascular experts worked together, rather than separately?
They decided to make a serious impact on these numbers with one of their own: an unprecedented $130 million donation to unite three world-class institutions – SickKids, UHN and University of Toronto – in a common pursuit to improve the future of heart health for adults and children.
Clinicians and scientists from the three partners have now spent five years peeling back the layers of a complex disease. Targeting specific inroads into solving heart failure, they've worked to help give patients a better quality of life today, while exploring advanced treatment and prevention strategies.
They've built a foundation on three overlapping areas of focus:
- Dramatically improve patient outcomes through data science, predictive analytics and new clinical strategies
- Analyze the human genome to find the genetic roots of heart failure
- Develop new ways to repair and regenerate injured heart tissue
After five years, there is much to celebrate.
