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Heart Valve Voice Canada wants to ensure that both those affected by heart valve disease and those involved in its diagnoses and treatment have access to meaningful resources. These tools are intended to help guide and support patients, caregivers and clinicians in their unique roles and are tailored to meet their specific needs in the diagnosis, treatment, and recovery process of heart valve disease.
Feeling empowered can give you strength and control over your life so that you can make the best decisions for your health. The 7 Steps to Becoming an Empowered Patient, developed by the Mended Hearts®, defines and explains each step. This resource will guide you to make the best decisions for yourself.
In this webinar you will learn about the different types of heart valve disease and what to expect at various stages of the patient journey. It explains heart valve disease from a biological standpoint and shares what patients and caregivers need to know about risk factors, signs and symptoms, diagnosis, and both treatment and post-treatment expectations. You will also hear from a former heart valve disease patient on how to advocate for your health and work towards a full recovery.
Watch HereThis webinar is specifically for medical professionals or healthcare students on their way to the field and are interested in knowing what the latest innovations and technologies are for heart valve disease. Join Dr. Philippe Pibarot, cardiology research specialist, as he discusses the standard care and innovations in the screening, diagnosis and treatment of valvular disease.
Watch HereAfter receiving treatment many patients are unaware of what to anticipate physically, mentally, and emotionally. This webinar has a post-care focus that discusses what to expect after treatment, advice on how to approach recovery, and is filled with experience from both clinical and patient perspectives.
Watch HereOur symptom tracker has been developed to help people who think they may have heart valve disease, or other cardiac conditions, prior to or during consultation periods with their doctor. It captures symptoms to help you and your doctor understand your health and assist with diagnosis and ongoing care planning.
Download Symptom TrackerThis resource will help guide you through a remote appointment with your doctor or care team. Download this Virtual Appointment Guide so that you can be prepared to ask and answer important questions regarding your health.
Download Virtual Appointment GuideThis guide will help you prepare for an appointment with your doctor and support an efficient, informative, and helpful consultation.
It outlines the types of questions your doctor may ask you during the consultation, as well as questions you'll want to consider asking.
Click the buttons below to listen to what a normal, healthy heartbeat sounds like and compare it to how hearts with different types of heart valve disease sound. Note: the sounds are best heard when using headphones rather than computer or device audio.
Aortic StenosisMitral RegurgitationMild Pulmonary StenosisTricuspid RegurgitationThis resource provides an overview of key information on heart valve disease specifically for clinicians and healthcare professionals. It briefly discusses signs and symptoms, diagnosis and treatment options to act as a point-of-reference for those who may not interact with heart valve disease cases as frequently.
The report Heart Valve Disease: Working together to create a better patient journey commissioned by Heart Valve Voice Canada and written by The Health Policy Partnership provides a comprehensive view of the entire heart valve disease patient journey from first detection to diagnosis, follow-up, and treatment, identifying gaps and their impacts. This report was developed under the guidance of a multidisciplinary advisory council, whose members included people with lived experience and healthcare professionals engaged in heart valve disease in Canada. The patient perspective was the common thread throughout this report.
Learn moreThe Institute for Health Economics (IHE) has published a report which provides the results of a national roundtable convened in November 2021 to identify the necessary components for a national strategy to address heart valve disease. Heart Valve Disease is on the rise, affecting millions of people worldwide. It can be fatal if untreated but is increasingly treatable with early detection.
The Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) provides National Quality Reports to support improved quality of cardiovascular care across the health care system using evidenced-based information. In 2016, the CCS released its National Quality Report: Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation describing the quality of TAVI at the national level and demonstrating the feasibility and importance of a collaborative, pan-Canadian effort to improve patient care. We invite patients, families and health care professionals to review this report on the CCS website here.