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Schulich Heart Program

SRI programs

Maria Terricabras Casas, MD, MSc

Clinician-scientist

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
2075 Bayview Ave., Room D410
Toronto, ON
M4N 3M5

Phone: 416-480-6100 Ext. 64746
Fax: 416-480-5251

Clinical profile

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Administrative Assistant (Clinical): Noushin Ghahremani
Phone: 416-480-6100 Ext. 64746
Email: noushin.ghahremani@sunnybrook.ca

Dr. Maria Terricabras is a staff cardiologist and cardiac electrophysiologist at the Schulich Heart Program at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. She specializes in complex ablations, including atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia ablation. Her expertise also includes implantable devices such as pacemakers, defibrillators, cardiac resynchronization therapy, and conduction system pacing.

Dr. Terricabras currently serves as a primary panel member of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society/Canadian Heart Rhythm Society Cardiac Implantable Electronic Device Therapy Guidelines. In addition to her strong interest in pre-clinical translational research, she is a co-investigator in various multicenter clinical trials.

She earned her medical degree from the University of Barcelona and a Master of Science from the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto. Dr. Terricabras completed her cardiology training at Hospital Vall d'Hebron in Barcelona, Spain, and an advanced electrophysiology fellowship at Southlake Regional Health Centre and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.

Research profile

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Education:

  • MD, 2011, University of Barcelona, Canada
  • Cardiology residency, 2017, Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron (Barcelona, Spain)
  • Electrophysiology fellowship, 2021, Southlake Regional Health Centre – Sunnybrook Health Sciences, University of Toronto (Toronto, Canada)
  • MSc, 2023, Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Canada

Appointments and Affiliations:

Research Foci:

  • Preclinical evaluation of medical devices in animal models
  • Development of new technologies in cardiac ablation

Research Summary:

Dr. Maria Terricabras is a cardiac electrophysiologist whose research focuses on the development and evaluation of innovative cardiac ablation technologies. Her work aims to advance the understanding and clinical application of novel techniques for treating arrhythmias and improving patient outcomes. 

A key area of Dr. Terricabras' research is the use of pulsed electric field abalation (PFA) for treating arrhythmias and ventricular tachycardia. She explores the timing and mechanisms of cell death induced by PFA to optimize its application in clinical practice. Additionally, Dr. Terricabras studies the use of radiofrequency and cryoablation, refining these techniques to improve lesion formation and assess their safety profiles.

Dr. Terricabras is also deeply involved in the development of ex-vivo and large animal models for electrophysiology. Her broader goal is to evaluate and develop emerging technologies in preclinical settings, with the aim of translating these innovations from the lab to clinical practice. 

Selected Publications:

See current publications list at PubMed.

  1. Terricabras M, Martins RP, Peinado R, Derejko P, Mont L, Ernst S, Herranz D, Bailleul C, Verma A. Cardiac Pulsed Field Ablation Lesion Durability Assessed by Polarization-Sensitive Optical Coherence Reflectometry. Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol. 2024 Mar;17(3):e012255. doi: 10.1161/CIRCEP.123.012255. Epub 2024 Feb 6.
  2. Qeska D, Singh SM, Qiu F, Manoragavan R, Cheung CC, Ko DT, Sud M, Terricabras M, Wijeysundera HC. Variation and clinical consequences of wait-times for atrial fibrillation ablation: population level study in Ontario, Canada. Europace. 2023 May 19;25(5):euad074.
  3. Miller J, Sewani A, Rezazada J, Alawneh Y, Kazemian P, Terricabras M, Wright G, Tavallaei MA. Quantification of Mechanical Characteristics of Conventional Steerable Ablation Catheters for Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation Using a Heart Phantom. Cardiovasc Eng Technol. 2023 Jun;14(3):419-427.
  4. Padala SK, Master VM, Terricabras M, Chiocchini A, Garg A, Kron J, Shepard R, Kalahasty G, Azizi Z, Tsang B, Khaykin Y, Pantano A, Koneru JN, Ellenbogen KA, Verma A. Initial Experience, Safety, and Feasibility of Left Bundle Branch Area Pacing: A Multicenter Prospective Study. JACC Clin Electrophysiol. 2020 Dec;6(14):1773-1782.
  5. Terricabras M, Mantovan R, Jiang CY, Betts TR, Chen J, Deisenhofer I, Macle L, Morillo CA, Haverkamp W, Weerasooriya R, Albenque JP, Nardi S, Menardi E, Novak P, Sanders P, Verma A; Substrate and Trigger Ablation for Reduction of Atrial Fibrillation Trial–Part II (STAR AF II) Investigators. Association Between Quality of Life and Procedural Outcome After Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2020 Dec 1;3(12):e2025473.

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