$11 milliion gift will strengthen cardiac care at Sinai

TORONTO – An $11 million gift from philanthropist Miles Nadal will see Mount Sinai Hospital’s specialized cardiology program gain increased prominence and resources. Miles Nadal has been a leader, sponsor and supporter to Mount Sinai for over two decades, with personal donations totalling over $14 million.

Pictured are Kelly and Miles Nadal with Dr. Gary Newton

The Miles Nadal Heart Centre is a destination cardiology centre in the Greater Toronto Area that brings together the hospital’s expertise and specialties in distinct patient populations, such as women with heart disease who are pregnant or wishing to become pregnant; care for advanced-stage heart failure patients and treatment for patients with sleep apnea and breathlessness.

“I’ve always prided myself on being an entrepreneur and I see Sinai in that vein – they’re challenging conventional wisdom, doing things in an entrepreneurial way. I believe what we’re doing at the Miles Nadal Heart Centre is world leading and will change the approach to cardiac care,” said Miles Nadal, founder, chairman & CEO, Peerage Capital Group.

The Miles Nadal Heart Centre will be propelled by research to better understand heart function in these different populations, such as the difference in men’s and women’s hearts. With a strong academic research mandate, the Centre will also be home to Canada’s only research-dedicated cardiac catheterization lab – the Mecklinger-Posluns Cardiac Catheterization Research Laboratory.

The Centre is using state-of-the-art imaging to look at the mechanics of the heart and is at the international forefront of understanding heart disease.

“As the CEO and as a cardiologist who spent over twenty years caring for our cardiology patients, I am pleased to express our gratitude on behalf of our patients and staff for this very generous gift,” said Dr. Gary Newton, president and CEO, Sinai Health System.

Heart disease is the number one killer of Canadians, with nearly 1.5 million Canadians diagnosed annually with heart disease. One-third of these are in heart failure, which is the primary reason that people over age 65 are hospitalized.

Heart failure debilitates patients with extreme weakness, chronic fatigue and fluid retention, and is usually fatal. This is an often overlooked area of care that The Miles Nadal Heart Centre is uniquely poised to address, as they care for the 99 percent of heart failure patients who will never get a transplant.

The landmark gift will also support Sinai Health System’s capital development initiative, Renew Sinai, which is transforming the hospital’s facilities and expanding its internationally recognized clinical and research programs.

In recognition, the unit that cares for hospitalized patients with heart failure will be named the Kelly Nadal Cardiac In-Patient Unit. Construction throughout the hospital has already begun on the largest redevelopment in its history.

“For the overwhelming majority of people with heart disease, it is a chronic issue where we need to help them find ways to manage and live well with it,” said Dr. Alan Barolet, site director for Cardiology at Mount Sinai Hospital.

“I think we do a very good job of helping people, particularly once they get back home, to have as high a quality of life as possible, but we all want to do more for this patient population,” said Dr. Barolet. “This gift from Miles Nadal will translate into more options and hopefully, better outcomes for these patients.”

About Sinai Health System
Sinai Health System is comprised of Mount Sinai Hospital, Bridgepoint Active Healthcare, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute and Circle of Care. As an integrated health system, it delivers exceptional care from healthy beginnings to healthy aging, especially for people with specialized and complex health needs, in hospital, community and home. Sinai Health System discovers and translates scientific breakthroughs, develops practical health solutions, educates future clinical and scientific leaders and leads efforts to eliminate health inequities. Its Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute ranks in the top ten biomedical research institutes in the world. Sinai Health System is a full affiliate of the University of Toronto. For more information, visit www.sinaihealthsystem.ca.