BMO Financial Group donates $2 million to the Montreal Heart Institute Foundation’s Heart Beat for the Future campaign

The Montreal Heart Institute Foundation is pleased to announce that BMO Financial Group has donated $2 million to the Heart Beat for the Future Capital Campaign. More specifically, this gift will go toward funding the activities of the Montreal Heart Institute’s (MHI) Prevention Division.

In today’s world, it is estimated that 80 to 90 percent of cardiovascular accidents could be avoided through significant lifestyle changes (exercise, nutrition, smoking cessation). It is also believed that second-line prevention (preventive treatments after a cardiovascular event) could reduce the risk of relapse by 30 to 40 percent. For that reason, prevention is now, more than ever, one of the cornerstones of the MHI’s mission.

“I am particularly proud to support an institution dear to my heart and renowned in North America and throughout the world in terms of cardiovascular disease research, treatment and prevention,” said L. Jacques Ménard, President of BMO Financial Group, Quebec, upon presenting his company’s $2 million contribution to the MHI Foundation.

Here is an overview of the five areas of prevention development at the MHI:

1. Development of current first-line and second-line prevention services
Significantly improve our first-line and second-line prevention services. More specifically, we would like to ensure that each patient receives systematic and intensive follow-up care according to his or her risk factors. We also plan on offering these services to patients referred by doctors working in medical clinics and CLSCs.
2. Community involvement of the MHI and EPIC Centre
Influence the population and decision makers in the area of prevention. Through a strategic partnership with the Acti-Menu group, we will organize prevention activities for schools, businesses, the media and the general public.
3. Support for the development of prevention centres in Montreal and outlying regions
Continue to develop a unique and practical training model in heart disease prevention to be taught then applied across all regions of the Province of Quebec.
4. Teaching prevention to the health professionals of today and tomorrow
In partnership with the Université de Montréal, pursue the development of a specific and comprehensive teaching program on prevention intended for all health professionals, including doctors.
5. Research development and partnership
Significantly increase research efforts in terms of lifestyle changes. Prevention research is, in fact, an integral part of the three main research areas at the MHI (vascular axis, myocardial axis and electrophysiology).

“When I talk to my patients about prevention, they answer ‘We must all die sometime’,” says Dr. Martin Juneau, Director of Prevention at the Montreal Heart Institute. And who wants to live even an extra year when disease is eating away at you? Recently, however, we’ve learned that a healthy lifestyle can make those senior days much more pleasant. The real question to ask ourselves should be: In what state of health do I want to be between 60 and 85?

“The same trend has been observed across all Western countries; lack of physical exercise and junk food will not only kill our young people prematurely compared to previous generations but will also ruin their final days,” explained Dr. Juneau. “Cardiovascular diseases do not just mean a heart attack followed by death. They also mean strokes and heart failure, which sabotage a person’s last years of life.”