Heartfelt Thanks from Brad Ross 

It was just another Monday when Brad Ross woke up on February 27th of this year.

He started his day with a cup of coffee, had some breakfast and ventured down to his home gym for a workout. He rode his Peloton bike for about 30 minutes, tossed in a load of laundry and then his daughter called.

“We were talking, and I still hadn’t caught my breath,” he says. After ending the call, Brad’s discomfort got worse.

“The chest pains were radiating around my back and down my arms,” he recalls. “I was getting sweaty. I laid down, but I couldn’t get comfortable. I kind of knew deep down that I was probably having a heart attack.”

He was—a life threatening “widow-maker” heart attack. At 9 am, he asked his wife to call 911.

This triggered the Simcoe Muskoka Code STEMI. This protocol ensures that a patient experiencing a suspected heart attack—no matter where they live in Simcoe County or Muskoka—receives advanced cardiac care at RVH within two hours of first accessing medical attention.

In Brad’s case, less than an hour later, he was whisked up the dedicated elevator in the Emergency Department at RVH and wheeled into the Cardiac Cath Lab where a stent was placed in his artery.

“Almost immediately, I felt relief,” says Brad. “The blood flow was back, and I felt like I could breathe.”

Ninety minutes after calling 911, he was in a patient room recovering. Two days later, he went home.

It’s difficult to convey the depth of his appreciation.

“I am here today because of RVH and… the talented people on staff who know what they are doing and the paramedics who got me there so quickly.”

The lifesaving care Brad received at RVH means he’s back living his wild life, enjoying retirement and pursuing the next phase of his career—becoming a barber.

Imaging Transforming Patient Care at RVH

Dr. Raj Grover is a diagnostic radiologist and the Medical Director of Imaging at RVH. He and his team are using leading-edge technology and engaging talented medical minds to advance patient care in our region.

As RVH grows and expands, the role of imaging will move beyond diagnostics to become a bigger player in treatment for patients throughout Simcoe Muskoka.

Currently, RVH employs emergent interventional radiology in trauma and cancer care. This is when imaging is used to guide tiny instruments, such as catheters or needles, to access and treat specific areas without requiring a larger surgery. However, imaging technology will have a greater impact in the future, encompassing stroke treatment, and enhanced cancer care, and the substitution of invasive procedures with less invasive alternatives.

One of the most exciting medical imaging opportunities at RVH is to further develop our stroke program to improve the outcome for patients experiencing ischemic strokes—strokes caused by blood clots in the brain.

RVH is one of seven sites in the country to have Accreditation Canada’s Stroke Distinction, recognizing our clinical excellence and commitment to evidence-based stroke care. However, this care still involves transferring ischemic stroke patients to Toronto for treatment.

“It is our plan that we will soon perform life-saving endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) procedures right here at RVH,” says Dr. Grover.

The procedure takes mere minutes. A small arterial puncture is made in the groin, an image-guided catheter with a tiny umbrella-like structure is inserted and travels beyond the clot. It opens and the clot is pulled out of the artery, allowing blood flow to return to the brain immediately.

“Many studies show that the faster this treatment is offered, the better a patient’s outcome,” says Dr. Grover. “Including a return to independent living and all the quality-of-life factors associated with that.”

According to Dr. Grover, in the coming years, we will see many advances in imaging for safer, personalized treatment options like EVT, not only for stroke care, but other neurological conditions, cardiac care, and oncology. We will also learn new ways to integrate the imaging we already have to offer better treatments for our patients right here in our own community.

“In the future, imaging will help us better plan surgical procedures to save time in the operating room, and even determine whether a patient needs surgery at all,” explains Dr. Grover. “With our new PET-CT, as new tracers are developed to target certain organ systems, what we will be able to see in a scan will expand our treatment options. And, in oncology, we will be able to use imaging to deliver radiation or chemotherapy directly to a tumour via the artery which supplies it, saving our patients from the ill-effects of less targeted forms of therapy.”

Working toward these advancements will improve the patient experience throughout our region, making care safer, reducing discomfort, and shortening recovery time. Patients who receive care at RVH will have access to the latest imaging technology, helping to get them back to do doing what they love sooner.