The Alberta government says planning for a new cardiac catheterization lab at Chinook Regional Hospital in Lethbridge, Alta., are now complete and the work is moving into the next phase of defining the project’s scope, schedule, budget and impacts.

Such a facility is something doctors in Lethbridge have been seeking for more than a decade.

In the 2023 budget, the Alberta government announced $2 million would be spent on planning for the new lab.

Cardiac catheterization is a commonly-used method to diagnose or treat a variety of heart problems.

Doctors use a thin, hollow tube called a catheter that is guided through blood vessels to the heart.

It can provide important details about the heart muscle, heart valves and blood vessels and can be used to diagnose conditions such as clogged arteries or irregular heartbeats.

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Currently, Lethbridge does not have a cardiac catherization lab and patients need to be sent to Calgary for treatment.

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“Residents in Southern Alberta should not have to travel for comprehensive cardiac care,” said Alberta Health Minister Adriana LaGrange in making the announcement the project is moving to the next stage.

“Expanding services and building a new cardiac catheterization lab will help residents access the services and treatments they need close to home,” LaGrange added.

AHS says compared with the provincial average, residents of Southern Alberta are 30 per cent more likely to die from cardiac-related disease.

The Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation says 90 per cent of Canadians have at least one risk factor for some form of heart disease and one person in Canada dies every five minutes from heart conditions, stroke or vascular cognitive impairment. That’s 13 per cent more people than those who die from all forms of cancer combined.