CP supports Touchdowns for Heart

Canadian Pacific (CP) is once again teaming up with the CFL (Canadian Football League) to deliver CP Touchdowns for Heart during the 104th Grey Cup Playoffs.

This year, CP is supporting the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre’s Mechanical Heart Program. Mechanical hearts provide an immediate lifeline, helping damaged hearts function until a transplant is possible.

CP contributed $5,000 to the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre (PMCC), part of University Health Network, for every home team touchdown made during the first and second rounds of the playoffs for a total of $80,000.

CP Touchdowns for Heart will conclude at the 104th Grey Cup on Nov. 27 in Toronto, where every touchdown scored by the Calgary Stampeders and Ottawa REDBLACKS will generate $10,000 to help patients with heart failure at the PMCC, Canada’s premier cardiac centre.

“CP Has Heart, our community investment program, is making a significant investment in cardiac care to improve the lives of men, women and children across North America,” said Mark Wallace, CP Vice President Corporate Affairs. “The Peter Munk Cardiac Centre is the site of the largest Mechanical Heart Program in Canada. These incredible devices give patients time for their heart to recover while awaiting a heart transplant.”

During last year’s Grey Cup run, the CP Touchdowns for Heart campaign raised $180,000 to support a new cardiac screening protocol for women at St. Boniface Hospital. This year’s fundraising for the PMCC will help purchase mechanical hearts, or left ventricular assist devices. Often referred to as a “bridge to transplant,” this sophisticated, miniature mechanical pump is surgically implanted on one or both sides of the heart. It acts as a temporary assist to keep a diseased or damaged heart functioning until a replacement heart is located.

“An unremitting focus on innovation coupled with leading medical expertise in cardiac-assist device technology like the mechanical heart has enabled our centre to continue to break new ground in this growing area of research and treatment, both in Canada and around the world,” said Dr. Barry Rubin, Medical Director, Peter Munk Cardiac Centre. “Through the tremendous generosity of CP, CP Has Heart and other philanthropic support, our goal to offer this potential lifeline to even more patients enduring the debilitating effects of heart failure becomes possible.”