Stories With HeartDrawing from a Passion
Posted on: Jan 25, 2019Dr. Brass’ passion for the human body has been present since he was a child. Even as a young boy he would spend hours flipping through and learning from a human anatomy book that he was given.
Dr. Brass’ passion for the human body has been present since he was a child. Even as a young boy he would spend hours flipping through and learning from a human anatomy book that he was given.
His father, an architect by trade, noted this keen desire and put his own drafting skills to work drawing an anatomical heart on the chalkboard in Dr. Brass’ childhood bedroom. To this day, this drawing stands out to Dr. Brass as an influence on his passion for the human heart.
His fascination continued through his schooling years, and it eventually led him to become a cardiologist.
“It was something that I always enjoyed. I loved medicine and the human body and its mechanisms growing up,” said Dr. Brass, with a look of contentment on his face. Now, as a long-time cardiologist at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, Dr. Brass has been appointed the new Chief of Cardiology.
Dr. Brass joined the team in interventional and general cardiology at the Royal Alexandra hospital in 1993. Since then, Dr. Brass served as President of the Section of Cardiology for the Alberta Medical Association and sat on numerous local, regional, and provincial committees, which made him the perfect choice to be named the new Chief at the CK Hui Heart Centre.
“I saw becoming the Chief of Cardiology as another challenge. I got to a certain stage in my career where I had a good knowledge base and familiarity with the clinical side of what I was doing. Now is the time to look at my position from a broader perspective, beyond my patients.”
“I saw becoming the Chief of Cardiology as another challenge. I got to a certain stage in my career where I had a good knowledge base and familiarity with the clinical side of what I was doing. Now is the time to look at my position from a broader perspective, beyond my patients.”
As the only interventional cardiologist in Alberta carrying out percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty - a procedure that widens the mitral valve so that blood flows more easily through the heart - Dr. Brass is leading by example.
This minimally invasive procedure is allowing patients of the CK Hui Heart Centre to return to their lives quickly and with very little downtime due to the need for only a small incision through their arm or groin to reach the heart. Thanks to Dr. Brass, patients who receive this treatment have seen incredibly successful outcomes and almost immediate symptom relief.
