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Life-saving boost for heart & stroke research

June 25, 2013

Sunnybrook's stroke research is getting a significant boost as part of an unprecedented $300-million gift to leading Canadian research centres from the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

The multi-year commitment will help Sunnybrook researchers accelerate their work into discovering better ways to detect, diagnose and treat stroke and cardiac conditions — and moving them into clinical practice.

"Scientists at Sunnybrook Research Institute have shared a long and effective partnership with the Heart and Stroke Foundation. This pledge will deepen that relationship, so that — and this is what matters — we can move results into patient care faster," said Dr. Michael Julius, Vice-President of Research at Sunnybrook.

As part of the newly formed Heart and Stroke Foundation Research Leadership Circle, Sunnybrook is one of 18 centres to benefit from this gift. Though the foundation has contributed more than $1.35 billion to research in its 60-year history, this is its largest commitment.

"Simply put, there's an urgent need to save more lives faster and that's why the foundation has brought together the Research Leadership Circle," said David Sculthorpe, CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. "This $300-million commitment will allow our partners an unprecedented ability to plan major research projects, foster greater collaboration and attract even more of the world's best researchers within and outside of Canada to fight these insidious diseases."

Heart disease and stroke account for almost 30 per cent of all deaths a year in Canada. Every seven minutes someone dies from heart disease and stroke — that's nearly 69,000 people annually. These diseases are also a major drain on the Canadian economy, resulting in more than $20 billion spent each year in physician services, hospital costs, lost wages and decreased productivity.

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Full media release

Sunnybrook's heart and stroke research gets life-saving boost

TORONTO, June 25, 2013 - Sunnybrook's stroke research is getting a significant boost as part of an unprecedented $300-million gift to leading Canadian research centres from the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

The multi-year commitment will help Sunnybrook researchers accelerate their work into discovering better ways to detect, diagnose and treat stroke and cardiac conditions — and moving them into clinical practice.

"Scientists at Sunnybrook Research Institute have shared a long and effective partnership with the Heart and Stroke Foundation. This pledge will deepen that relationship, so that — and this is what matters — we can move results into patient care faster," said Dr. Michael Julius, Vice-President of Research at Sunnybrook.

As part of the newly formed Heart and Stroke Foundation Research Leadership Circle, Sunnybrook is one of 18 centres to benefit from this gift. Though the foundation has contributed more than $1.35 billion to research in its 60-year history, this is its largest commitment.

"Simply put, there's an urgent need to save more lives faster and that's why the foundation has brought together the Research Leadership Circle," said David Sculthorpe, CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. "This $300-million commitment will allow our partners an unprecedented ability to plan major research projects, foster greater collaboration and attract even more of the world's best researchers within and outside of Canada to fight these insidious diseases."

Heart disease and stroke account for almost 30 per cent of all deaths a year in Canada. Every seven minutes someone dies from heart disease and stroke — that's nearly 69,000 people annually. These diseases are also a major drain on the Canadian economy, resulting in more than $20 billion spent each year in physician services, hospital costs, lost wages and decreased productivity.

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About Sunnybrook

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre cares for 1.2 million patients each year through the dedication of more than 10,000 staff and volunteers. An internationally recognized leader in research and education and a full affiliation with the University of Toronto, Sunnybrook is one of Canada's premier academic health sciences centres. For more information about how Sunnybrook is inventing the future of health care, visit us online at www.sunnybrook.ca

About the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada

The Heart and Stroke Foundation, a volunteer-based health charity, leads in eliminating heart disease and stroke, reducing their impact through preventing disease, saving lives and promoting recovery.

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