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The First 50 Years of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute: Toward Heart Health for All

Year: 2026

Type: editorial

Abstract: The Institute began as a bold solution to an urgent need for specialized cardiac care in Ottawa, the Ottawa River Valley, and the Champlain region of Eastern Ontario. In 1970, an “affiliation agreement” was signed between the University of Ottawa and the Ottawa Civic Hospital. This referred to the “Cardiac Unit of the University of Ottawa,” whose aim would be to provide cardiac services to Ottawa and the surrounding region.1 Two figures shaped that early leap: Dr Wilbert J. Keon, whose training and vision sketched a 3-phase plan—life support, clinical floors, and a research wing—and Dr Donald S.

Source: Canadian Journal of Cardiology

DOI: 10.1016/j.cjca.2026.03.014