Montreal Heart Institute launches leading-edge Heart Valve Centre

The Montreal Heart Institute has opened the MHI Heart Valve Centre, a large-scale clinical and research facility that aims to become an international hub of expertise. As part of its plans, the centre intends to double the volume of patients with valve disease that it treats by 2028.

The ambitious goal was made possible by the MHI Foundation’s pledge to invest more than $5 million to set up operating rooms, acquire simulation and modelling equipment and deploy research and education projects.

In addition to leading-edge technology, the centre is also focused on human resources – continuously developing its workforce of valve disease experts.

“We’re bringing skilled people together in one place to make this possible,” said Dr. Walid Ben Ali, a heart surgeon at the MHI. “That includes anesthesiologists, cardiac surgeons, interventional cardiologists, and radiologists. Together, we are making the process more efficient.”

The MHI recently recruited Dr. Ralph Stephan von Bardeleben, a physician renowned for his expertise in the clinical, research and educational aspects of minimally invasive valve therapies. Dr. von Bardeleben previously headed the heart valve centre at the University of Mainz, in Germany.

According the MHI, his clinical experience is simply unmatched, as Dr. von Bardeleben has performed a record number of percutaneous mitral and tricuspid valve procedures.

Already, the MHI is well on its way to increasing the number of procedures it conducts. In only one week, the MHI’s teams carried out mitral and tricuspid procedures in 23 patients in a single operating room – a record in North America.

The organization aims to each year carry out 1,000 percutaneous aortic valve replacements (up 100 percent) and 400 percutaneous mitral and tricuspid procedures (up 300 percent), for a total of 1,400 procedures annually. This would place it alongside the top health institutions in Europe.

Dr. Ben Ali noted, moreover, that the MHI Heart Valve Centre is becoming a hotbed of technological product development.

Clinician/researchers are developing new valves and other devices, often in partnership with multinationals such as Medtronic, Boston Scientific, Abbott Labs, Polaris and Edwards.

They’re also working with Canadian startups and creating spinoffs. For his part, Dr. Ben Ali – who is known for his expertise in minimally invasive procedures, including robotic-assisted surgeries – is also an innovator.

Most recently, he devised a new mitral valve leaflet for which he obtained a patent. A product using the technology is currently under development.

The Montreal Heart Institute is not only set up for human trials, but can also conduct animal testing – an earlier stage of product trials. He observed that this full range of activities is important to global innovation companies as they bring products to market.

“We can go from bench to bed,” said Dr. Ben Ali. “This is attracting a lot of people.”

Overall, the centre aims to become one of the top 10 heart valve centres in the world, and one of the top three in North America. He said that when it comes to North America, other outstanding centres include the Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Montefiore Health System in New York, and hospitals in Los Angeles.

“We’re already collaborating with these hospitals,” said Dr. Ben Ali, along with centres in Germany and France.

According to the MHI, heart valve disease affects one in 40 Canadians and is a significant cause of heart failure, morbidity and mortality. Unfortunately, heart valve disease will become more prevalent as the population continues to age.

It’s estimated that by 2040, 1.5 million Canadians aged 65 and over will be living with heart valve disease.

Over the past few years, percutaneous valve therapies have transformed the way these pathologies are treated. The procedures do not require open-heart surgery or general anesthesia. Patients recover more quickly, experience less pain, need less medication and require shorter hospital stays.

Dr. Ben Ali said that, “65 percent of patients who are hospitalized at the MHI are discharged the day after this new procedure. And most can resume their daily activities a week later.”

“This new centre for highly specialized care represents a major advance in how valve disease is treated,” commented Dr. Peter Guerra, head of specialized medicine at the MHI. “It also perfectly embodies our vision to make medical excellence accessible to patients both here and abroad. It’s a cutting-edge centre that will allow us to save more lives.”