February is Heart Month and there will be many events about heart health, disease prevention, and celebrating decades of cardiovascular care, research, and education at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. “Heart month is an important focal point for us because it’s really emphasizing the importance of your heart health and taking care of yourself and the cardiac care that we provide,” University of Ottawa Heart Institute President & CEO Dr. Rob Beanlands tells CTV News Ottawa. “A big focal point for our foundation to raise further awareness within the community of all that we do,” he says. It’s also a time for the community to come together and raise funds. “It is a million-plus-dollars month in fundraising,” says University of Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation President Lianne Laing. “We have over 100 community events. The Capital Red initiative is massive, and seeing hundreds of buildings lit up red. We have paper hearts that are being distributed in so many different businesses where they’re literally their windows are plastered with paper hearts and people making donations in memory of,” she says. Last year, the campaign generated $1.4 million dollars, made possible through sponsors, donors, and community initiatives. “We cannot do what we do without the help and support of the community. And we are so extraordinarily grateful for everything the community does to enable the Heart Institute,” says Beanlands. According to the Heart Institute Foundation, donations will be matched by Heart Month sponsors and corporate community “heroes” throughout February. Patient Jonathan Pivnick knows what it’s like to receive care from the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. Pivnick, 70, was screened for heart health at a mobile clinic as part of a Heart Institute initiative at a hockey rink nearly a year ago. “They checked my valves, and everything was working great, and they said, ‘but you have an aortic aneurysm and it’s quite large, and it’s going to need a surgical solution,’” he tells CTV News Ottawa. Months later, he says he received open-heart surgery at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. “Without them checking it, finding it, I could have been one of those statistics shoveling snow lying on the driveway.” His story is one of many being highlighted and celebrated during Heart Month. According to the Heart Institute Foundation, donations go towards groundbreaking research, innovative patient programs, upgrades in cutting-edge equipment and technology, infrastructure needed for a growing and complex patient population, staff training, and life-saving prevention and education both on-site and in the community. To learn more, or to have your donation matched, visit their website, https://februaryisheartmonth.ca/
