Our Programs
Programs Available at the Ottawa
Cardiovascular Centre
Our model is to provide comprehensive structured continuing care in an integrated approach to global risk factor modification and optimization. We target every patient for optimal risk reduction and provide continuity to ensure that this care is sustained. We have developed evidence based patient management checklists to assist in targeting therapy and have trained our cardiac nurses to apply these algorithms to patient management. Our goal is to establish the Ottawa Cardiovascular Prevention Program to provide all our patients with optimal cardiovascular risk reduction. Through a modular approach we will apply our risk reduction to our own patients and to offer this service to a broader referral base.
Aspects of this comprehensive integrated global cardiovascular intervention include:
- Counseling re:
- Nutrition
- Weight reduction
- Smoking cessation
- Exercise
- Pharmacologic intervention to reduce cardiovascular risk including:
- Optimal dyslipidemia therapy including appropriate statins, Cholesterol absorption inhibitors,fibrates and other agent to achieve zero tolerance for persisting lipid abnormalities
- Optimal hypertension detection follow-up and monitoring including automated office BP monitors, ambulatory and home BP monitoring to ensure compliance and treatment to therapeutic target
- Optimal evidence based ACE inhibition in all appropriate vascular patients
- Optimal cardio-renal protection in patients at risk of diabetic or non-diabetic nephropathy
- Optimal glycemic control utilizing oral hypoglycemic therapy and insulin therapy to minimize micro-vascular complications of diabetes
- Optimal anti-thrombotic and anti-platelet therapies to minimize risk of cerebral and coronary cardiovascular events due to
a. Atrial fibrillation
b. Atherothrombosis - Optimal ACE inhibitor, AT-1 Blocker (ARB) and β - blocker titration in patients with CHF and asymptomatic LV dysfunction to minimize progression and maximize regression of LV dysfunction
The OCC has set the goal of reaching out and supporting a broader spectrum of cardiovascular disease management for the community by expanding its services and focusing on the prevention of cardiovascular disease. To this end we developed a variety of protocols which are deployed as part of the:
PLATINUM© Program (Program to Limit Atherosclerosis, Thrombosis, Ischaemia and Nephropathy through Universal Management). These include:
- DIAMOND© (DIabetes Atherosclerosis Management for Outcome and Nephropathy Delay)
- AMETHYST© (Atherosclerosis Management for Effective Treatment of Hypertension and Systemic TOD )
- GOLD© (Glucose Optimization for Longevity in Diabetics )
- HOP to ITT© (Hypertension Optimization Program to Implement Treatment Targets)
- LOT to ITT© (Lipid Optimization Tool to Implement Treatment Targets)
- SPARCLE© (SPorts Assessment to Reduce Cardiac Lethal Events)
- WATCHH© (Women’s ATherosclerosis Cholesterol, Hypertension and Hormone)
- HAART-CVD© (Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy-CVD Prevention)
- CARDIO-Rheum©
- CARDIAC-Rheum/Derm© (Cardiac Assessment in Rheumatologic Dermatologic and Inflammatory Conditions)
In all cases long-term follow-up will ensure compliance and maintenance of treatment targets.
OCC is now focusing on deployment of the full PLATINUM Program - which will target post ACS/Non-STEMI patients, post PCI patients, post STEMI patients and coronary patients who do not have ongoing cardiac follow-up, for optimal long term evidence based risk reduction and ischaemic monitoring. The PLATINUM program will be offered to AMETHYST, DIAMOND, EMERALD, GOLD and WATCHH patients. Physician follow-up will occur regularly to ensure that target lipid, blood pressure, glycaemic and other coronary risk factors are treated aggressively and to target with the most evidence based therapies.
A number of patient, nurse and physician education booklets have been developed to facilitate a core knowledge base in cardiovascular awareness and disease management.
These include:
Further resources are available on our companion website: the CVTOOLBOX at www.cvtoolbox.com