Grant: Operating Grant

Heart failure is a modern day epidemic, affecting 1.5-2% of Canadians with $3 billion in hospital costs annually, and the burden will double in the next 1-2 decades. One-third of patients will die within one year of diagnosis, and all patients have a low quality of life. Surprisingly, up to half of these patients have seemingly preserved systolic (pumping) heart function, and are diagnosed with "diastolic" heart failure (which refers to how their heart relaxes and fills with blood). There are unfortunately no proven therapies for diastolic heart failure, and there is no direct evidence that abnormal relaxation and filling are the actual cause of the heart failure in these patients. The underlying health issue is thus the limited understanding of the mechanisms of heart failure in patients who have seemingly normal pumping function. In this program, we are motivated by the need for new diagnostic tools and targeted studies to identify and understand these mechanisms. We will develop and evaluate new medical imaging (MRI) techniques for the measurement of the mechanisms of diastolic dysfunction. Ultimately, accurate diagnosis and effective treatment plans and therapies for diastolic heart failure cannot be developed without knowledge of the underlying disease mechanisms.