In the heart of Vancouver, a medical strike force is assembling to battle a formidable enemy that hijacks one of the body’s most vital organs—and they’re rewriting the rules of engagement for patients society often leaves behind.
The cardiac monitor beeps steadily as Dr. Simone Cowan, a cardiologist at St. Paul’s Hospital (SPH), examines the echocardiogram on her screen. The view reveals an insidious intruder: bacteria colonizing a heart valve, releasing microemboli into the bloodstream like biological shrapnel. This is infective endocarditis (IE)—a multi-system condition that begins with bacteria infiltrating the heart but can ultimately ambush organs throughout the body.
“Although we’re talking about this being predominantly a heart infection, it is actually a multi-system condition,” explains Cowan. “Think of the blood passing through those infected valves picking up infection. That’s what makes it complicated. People can come in with back pain because they have infection that’s left the heart valve, traveled through the bloodstream, and infected the bones. It can infect areas in the brain, the lungs, etc.”
For decades, treating IE has resembled a disjointed medical relay race, with specialists working in isolation, handing off patients from department to department. But at SPH, a transformation is underway. The Infective Endocarditis Working Group (IEWG) is pioneering a collaborative strike force approach that could become the new gold standard for treating this complex condition province-wide.
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