In 2020, Ron Pavlakovic received a heart transplant due to his idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, a form of heart disease affecting as many as one in 250 people. Dilated cardiomyopathy causes the heart to enlarge and its normally muscular walls to thin and stretch, affecting its capacity to pump blood. Pavlakovic, a real estate professional, was not getting enough oxygen to his system, and was struggling with everyday activities like climbing stairs.
He was in St. Paul’s Hospital, one of 18 health and long-term care sites run by Providence Health Care (PHC), receiving a routine treatment when he got the sudden and exciting news that they had a new heart for him. At 1 a.m. the next morning, Pavlakovic received a heart transplant – but his old one did not go to waste. He donated it to the Bruce McManus Cardiovascular Biobank in the Centre for Heart Lung Innovation (HLI), at Providence Research, PHC’s research engine.
