OAC Member’s Heartwarming Story

Every so often there’s a story that touches just about anyone who reads it. In case you missed it, the Toronto Star wrote a wonderful piece about OAC member cardiologist Dr. Jack Colman, and how a decision he made over two decades ago has come full circle.

Back in 1991, now medical student Priyanka Kugamoorthy’s mother had a balloon valvuloplast procedure that inflated her narrowing aortic valve that was putting strain on her heart and her pregnancy. That successful operation allowed Mangayatgarasi Kugamoorthy to give birth to her first child a few months later. Fast forward to today where Priyanka recently observed Dr. Colman as part of her studies in becoming a cardiologist, calling it one of the best experiences she’s ever had.

“The quote in the article about my becoming teary was accurate” says Dr. Colman. “But in the end,  it’s what cardiologists do all the time. I’m proud of the work we do. I’m also thrilled to inspire the next generation of cardiologists to continue to deliver the best cardiac care to Ontarians. ”

Dr. Colman is a founder of  the Pregnancy and Heart Disease Program at Mount Sinai Hospital and University of Toronto. It is one of the largest such programs in the world, and has been a leader in the development and dissemination of knowledge about women with heart disease, focussing on risk stratification and assessment, preconception counselling, and multidisciplinary management through pregnancy and the post-partum. Their work has had an influence on multiple international guidelines for pregnancy and heart disease as well as pregnancy management sections of guidelines for general cardiology.

Read the full story here: http://on.thestar.com/13fMrlB

Information about heart disease and pregnancy for patients, families, and practitioners, developed in the Mount Sinai program with international collaborators, can be found here: www.heartdiseaseandpregnancy.com