The cardiology program at the Owen Sound Hospital is getting another boost.
The Grey Bruce Regional Health Centre Foundation is launching their spring fundraising campaign.
Executive Director Paul Weitendorf says they’re aiming to raise 150-thousand dollars for a new echocardiography machine.
As Bayshore Broadcasting news reported last month, the hospital now has its first ever full-time cardiologist, Doctor Khaled Shelig.
Weitendorf says the decision was made to focus this campaign on making sure Dr. Shelig has the equipment he needs to do his life-saving work.
Barb Harron, from electrodiagnostic services at the hospital, explains an echocardiography machine is a sophisticated ultrasound that displays an image of a patient’s heart.
It provides information about heart function and helps detect the presence of disease.
Harron explains the new echocardiography machine will replace a 10-year old model.
Harron says that older machine currently processes 220 patients every month, meaning it’s in almost constant use.
She says a cutting edge model will not only be faster and therefore able to assess more patients, it will also have the ability to do more sophisticated tests.
Harron says an exciting feature is the machine’s ability to do a stress test, where the heart is monitored before, during, and after the patient runs on a treadmill.
Harron says this machine is especially important for our area, as Grey Bruce is a ‘hot spot’ for heart disease.
Our region has a higher incidence of heart disease than both the provincial and national average, with heart disease accounting for 40 per cent of deaths in Grey Bruce.
Weitendorf says residents across Grey Bruce can expect a letter in the mail about the spring campaign to buy the new echocardiography machine.
Weitendorf expects the purchase will be made in June.