Sauder Family and Heart and Stroke Foundation Chair in Cardiology, and Paul Brunes UBC Professor in Heart Rhythm Disorders
Supported by $5.5 million from the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Sauder family, the Brunes family, the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation, Cardiac Services BC, Providence Health Care, and the University of British Columbia, Dr. Andrew Krahn was recruited to the Faculty of Medicine in 2012 as the new Head of the Division of Cardiology, as well as Head of the Vancouver General Hospital Pacemaker Clinic. An internationally recognized expert in the management of cardiac arrhythmias, Dr. Krahn’s current research interests include investigating the genetic causes of arrhythmias, causes of loss of consciousness, and implantable arrhythmia device monitoring. He has published 245 papers in peer-reviewed journals and is the president of the Canadian Heart Rhythm Society.
A dynamic, imaginative, and determined leader, Dr. Krahn’s responsibilities for building the Faculty of Medicine’s research and teaching capacity in cardiology extend across the entire province. His clinical duties, research, and leadership role will converge in the creation of a province-wide network of clinics to diagnose and treat people with cardiac arrhythmias—estimated to number about 7,000 in BC. Prior to joining UBC he led a national study that detected rare genetic conditions in children and adults who have experienced a sudden cardiac arrest, as well as their family members, who may appear perfectly healthy. Once a genetic condition is identified, a potentially fatal cardiac arrest can be prevented through medication (typically beta-blockers) or implantable defibrillators. Now Dr. Krahn is working to create a similar, province-wide network that would refer individuals with inherited arrhythmia—and their relatives—to a clinic at St. Paul’s Hospital or Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, or use telemedicine technologies to provide remote examinations and counseling.