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Latest news
2023 Annual GP Conference – Noosa
It's been a big month here for us as we delivered another successful fully booked out, Annual GP Conference in Noosa. It was an educational Day with great...
Patient story: Jim’s TAVI Procedure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNr50QC-dJM 15 years ago, Jim underwent open heart surgery to replace his damaged heart valve via a procedure called Surgical...
What is Cardiac Arrest?
One of the most vital parts of the human body is the heart, which circulates blood throughout your body. Every cell in your body needs oxygen, which is...
Heart Week | May 1-7
Prevention is always the best method for securing a safe heart.Heart Health Awareness Week is the first Week in May from 1st-7th 2023. Join us in spreading...
Top 5 Tips to a Healthy Heart
Remember, it is never too late to start taking care of your heart, and even small changes can make a big difference in improving your heart health.The heart...
Three open heart surgeries, and going strong: Edward’s story of beating the odds
He may have had three open heart surgeries, but that’s not stopping Edward Rex from living life to the full.Being diagnosed with a heart condition is enough...
The Truth about Stress & Heart Disease
Taking time out to relax and unwind could be one of the best things you do for your heart. When you think of unhealthy habits that could potentially harm your...
The man least likely: How heart problems caught Mark off guard
When you think of a heart surgery patient, someone who lives a healthy lifestyle, has no symptoms and does daily exercise including a mix of yoga, walking,...
Patient story: TAVI Procedure
This story is written by the daughter of James, Clare Wheat, December 2022. My father, James Bourassa (76 YO), had a heart attack last week. He went to the...
Annual GP Conference Wrap Up
Noosa delivered on the perfect winter's day as we welcomed our GP guests to the Sofitel ballroom for a welcome video of Heart HQ's journey to date and an...
20 years of TAVI!
This year we celebrate 20 years since the first in-man transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) procedure was performed in Rouen, France, by Dr Alain...
Get a Heart Health Check this Heart Week!
This week, May 2nd-8th 2022, is Heart Week! Did you know that one Australian has a heart attack or stroke every four minutes?Heart Week aims to raise...
Podcast 26: In conversation with our…Radiologist
In this episode, Stuart interviews Ryan Turnbull, a Radiologist from Heart HQ's sister company, EON Radiology.They chat about the kinds of scans Ryan performs...
Podcast 25: The Importance of Coronary Artery Calcium Scoring
The past week has seen the untimely passing of two prominent Australian figures, Shane Warne and Kimberly Kitching. Both had a fatal heart attack, and both...
Mediterranean Diet and Heart Health
The Mediterranean diet is gaining a lot of popularity in the nutrition space, for good reason. Research has shown this style of eating to be beneficial for...
Podcast 24: International Women’s Day
To celebrate International Women's Day, Peter and Stuart reflect on an earlier podcast they recorded about women and cardiovascular disease.They discuss the...
Podcast 23: Chest Pain
In this week's episode, Peter and Stuart talk about chest pain. Chest pain can be common and has a range of different causes. Tune in here to find...
Podcast 22: Left Bundle Branch Block
Following on from last week's episode about Right Bundle Branch Block, Peter and Stuart discuss Left Bundle Branch Block. The discuss how to diagnose a...
Podcast 21: Right Bundle Branch Block
Right Bundle Branch Block is when the normal electrical conduction activity in the heart is interrupted to the right ventricle. It can be diagnosed by the...
Podcast episode 20: Pericarditis
Pericarditis is the swelling of the membrane around the heart.It has had quite a lot of coverage in the media lately as it has been identified as a possible,...
Podcast episode 19: Atrial Fibrillation
In this episode, Peter and Stuart talk about atrial fibrillation (AF).AF is the most common cardiac arrhythmia that Peter and Stuart see in their patients. In...
Podcast episode 18: Pacemakers and Syncope
In this episode, Peter and Stuart talk about pacemakers.As well as discussing the different varieties of pacemakers, they also take a look at the types of...
Podcast episode 17: Mental Health, Psychosocial Factors and Cardiac Risk
In this episode, Peter and Stuart discuss the link between stress, depression, anxiety and cardiac events.Stressful life events, such as the death of a...
Our MitraClip accreditation – How it benefits our patients
More than half a million Australians are currently living with a type of Heart Valve Disease (HVD), known as Mitral Regurgitation (MR), which if left...
Podcast episode 16: Hypertension
In this episode, Peter and Stuart talk about hypertension. According to the Heart Foundation, 1 in 3 adults have high blood pressure in Australia. As...
Podcast episode 14: Happy New Year!
As the year draws to a close, Peter and Stuart reflect on the year that was and look ahead to a busy 2022. They also discuss a busy on-call Christmas period,...
Podcast episode 13: Christmas! Fun Facts About the Heart
As we are fast approaching Christmas, Peter and Stuart share some fun facts about the heart. For example, did you know that more heart attacks occur on...
Patient story: Tom Conwell
Tom Conwell On the 15th of January 2021 I was surfing at Dicky Beach with two friends. After about an hour they both left the water and we agreed to meet up...
Diet and cardiovascular disease
Hypertension, being overweight and having high cholesterol are all risk factors for heart attack, stroke and cardiovascular disease – and all of these can be...
IN THE NEWS: How our MitraClip procedure is changing the lives of patients on the Sunshine Coast
Watch Dr Peter Larsen and Dr Stuart Butterly talking about the MitraClip procedure on 7 News - and how it is changing the lives of patients, like Hugh, with...
Podcast episode 12: Diet and Cardiovascular Health
As we inch closer to Christmas, Peter and Stuart take a look at how what we eat can impact our cardiovascular health. In this episode they discuss a number of...
Podcast episode 11: Left Atrial Appendage Closure
In this week's episode, Peter and Stuart discuss Left Atrial Appendage (LAA) Closure. The LAA is a small thumb-sized pouch near the top of your heart. If you...
5 benefits of exercise for heart health
According to government guidelines, we should be physically active for 30-45 minutes a day, five times a week. We all know that exercise benefits our mind and...
Podcast episode 10: Dual Antiplatelet Therapy, Anticoagulants and Surgery
In this week's episode Peter and Stuart discuss dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT), anticoagulants and surgery. They are often asked by doctors whether patients...
Podcast episode 9: Takotsubo and Perioperative Risk Assessment
In this week's episode Peter and Stuart discuss Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy and Perioperative Risk Assessment. Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy often occurs after severe...
Latest Guidance on COVID-19 Vaccines and Myocarditis and Pericarditis
The government has release new guidelines on myocarditis and pericarditis after mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. You can download the guidelines below: Guidance on...
Patient story: Ken Nipperess
Ken Nipperess My story begins when I was diagnosed some years ago (at least 15 years) with premature atrial contractions (PACs) as a consequence of a...
Podcast episode 8: Coronary Artery Anomalies and HRT
In this week's podcast, Peter and Stuart chat about coronary artery anomalies. There are many different types of coronary artery anomalies such as an...
Patient story: Captain Frank Ross
Captain Frank Ross shares his story of his coronary artery double bypass. You can download his entire story below. I am 73 years old and have always been a...
Podcast episode 7: Aspirin as Primary Prevention and Bicuspid Aortic Valves
It used to be common that patients were given aspirin as a preventative measure. However, while it may help prevent heart attack and strokes in some people,...
Statins: Important for the prevention of cardiovascular disease progression
One of the questions we are often asked by patients is should they really be taking statins? There is so much information on the internet nowadays about the...
Podcast episode 6: GP Education Event Wrap-Up
We held our annual GP Education Conference at the beautiful Novotel Twin Waters Resort on the Sunshine Coast on Saturday 23rd October. There was a great turn...
Podcast episode 5: Statin Nocebo and Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM)
It has been 5 weeks since we launched our podcast! We have received some great feedback, as well as some interesting suggested topics for upcoming episodes....
Heart attack signs: How do you know if you’re having one?
Almost 20 Australians suffer a fatal heart attack every day. Heart attacks occur when the arteries that supply blood to your heart become blocked,...
Podcast episode 4: Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implant (TAVI)
In this week's episode of Heart HQ - a cardiology podcast, Dr Peter Larsen and Dr Stuart Butterly discuss Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implant (TAVI)....
Podcast episode 3: Valve-in-Valve TAVI and Women and Cardiovascular Disease
In the latest episode of Heart HQ - A cardiology podcast, our cardiologists Dr Peter Larsen and Dr Stuart Butterly discuss Valve-in-Valve Transcatheter Aortic...
Podcast episode 2: Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) Syndrome and Myocarditis and COVID 19 Vaccines
In the latest episode of Heart HQ - a cardiology podcast, our cardiologists Dr Peter Larsen and Dr Stuart Butterly discuss Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW)...
Heart HQ celebrates World Heart Day by launching a podcast!
September 29th is World Heart Day. On this day, Heart HQ is urging people to focus on their heart health - and decided to draw attention to this by launching...
Be heart attack aware this World Heart Day
In Australia, around 375,000 people will have a heart attack at some time in their life. While the number of people who die from a heart attack is...
Women and cardiovascular disease – what you need to know
Did you know that three out of 10 Australian women will die from cardiovascular disease? Or that half a million Australian women suffer one or more heart,...
Echocardiogram and consulting service at Nambour Selangor Private Hospital
Heart HQ provides a cardiology outpatient consultation and transthoracic echocardiogram service at Nambour Selangor Private Hospital. We provide the...
COVID-19 and heart disease—all you need to know to protect your heart
Heart Foundation has made a helpful info sheet with insights into protecting your heart health in the COVID-19 era. Heart Foundation—COVID-19 and heart...
200 TAVI procedures on the Sunshine Coast
Heart HQ is helping Sunshine Coast University Private Hospital (SCUPH) expand its structural heart program so locals don’t have to travel to capital cities to...
Should my patient stop their ACE inhibitor/ARB while we battle COVID-19?
We have received many questions from our GPs, specialist colleagues and patients regarding the speculation that patients with COVID-19 who are receiving...
Patient story: Dr Nanu Grewal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNEl0HEcy4U Dr Nanu Grewal shares his story of an unexpected heart attack. The CT calcium score is the international gold...
Innovative cardiac procedure improves comfort for Sunshine Coast patients
Heart HQ uses an alternate route to reach blood vessels during cardiac stenting and diagnostic angiography, which investigates abnormalities in the heart....
Diastolic heart failure
Diastolic dysfunction is widely recognised as a cause of heart failure. An echocardiogram can help confirm the diagnosis. The ASE has provided a handy info...
USC student placements
At Heart HQ, we have the pleasure of supporting University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) biomedical science students for the past five years. As part of their...
Queensland Rural Medical Education
Heart HQ works with Queensland Rural Medical Education to give medical students interested in cardiology the opportunity to attend clinics with our...
Is red wine any good for my heart?
Red wine in moderation has long been considered good for the heart, mainly by increasing high-density lipoprotein (the ‘good’ cholesterol) and because it...
Is laughter the best heart medicine?
Research on the topic is limited, but some studies indicate people who are often angry and uptight tend to have more heart disease than those who are more...
Coconut oil: Superfood or super fad?
Coconut oil has recently gained popularity due to heavy marketing in the US and Australia. There’s a significant amount of misinformation around its health...
Watching sport or playing sport—which is best for you?
As we gear up for the Olympics, we’re building excitement to watch the impressive feats of human sporting achievement. But your heart may be doing much more...
Coffee and the risk of heart disease
Coffee has a long history of health suspicion. It has been blamed for a variety of health problems from anxiety to heart attacks, but recent evidence suggests...
Cardiology tips: Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD)
Not every patient who presents with an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) has obstructive atherosclerotic coronary artery disease. SCAD is frequently missed as a...
Who is at risk of a heart attack?
Heart disease is the leading cause of death and illness in Australia. Trying to predict who will have a heart attack is a priority for us at Heart HQ....
What are ‘heart healthy’ foods?
Our Heart HQ cardiologists are often asked what foods to eat to avoid a heart attack or stroke. One of the ways we can all improve our cardiovascular (CV)...
Chocolate and the heart
Is eating chocolate a good thing for your heart or are you edging yourself closer to a heart attack with every piece? Well, the good news is that in...