When Carlos Gomez woke up one morning in 2021 with a strange feeling in his chest, he wasn’t sure what to think.
It was an uncomfortable sensation rather than a painful one, and it was radiating to his jaw.
He was also having difficulty breathing and decided he had to get to the hospital.
While it turned out he wasn’t having a heart attack, he was found to have reduced blood flow in his heart and needed to have two stents inserted to remedy it.
At just 39, he was young to have such symptoms, although he has had several family members die from heart-related disease.
Now he’s finding out more about that family predisposition through a new program at Royal Jubilee Hospital that aims to identify, treat and prevent premature heart disease, focusing on men under 50 and women under 55, especially those with family histories of premature heart disease.
The Study to Avoid Cardiovascular Events in B.C. program, or SAVE BC — already in place in Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and Kelowna — has now come to Victoria thanks to a $320,000 donation by a local couple.
Al and Eileen Gilchrist committed the funds through the Victoria Hospitals Foundation for the program to study atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, which is being led in Victoria by cardiologist Dr. Chris Franco.
Gomez, who is the first person in Victoria to take part in the program, said after he was referred to the study, he was diagnosed with high cholesterol, something he now knows has been common in his family.
“I didn’t know that before the study,” he said. “The study basically pushed me to investigate what was happening with my family that I didn’t know.”
He said the program looks at markers in participants’ DNA that can be used to identify a range of heart-related conditions.
Now 42, Gomez said he’s happy to know that the data from his case can contribute to efforts to help others through prevention.
“Knowledge is power and comfort,” Gomez said. “It is important for me, and for my two children, who are 24 and nine years old, to understand why I developed cardiac-care issues before my fortieth birthday.”
Gomez said he hopes that by taking part in the program, he can help his children and others “before they even face cardiac issues” and follow the same path he did.
The process involves screening family members, as well, and investigating genetic factors in early-onset heart disease.
From 500 to 1,000 people in B.C. are diagnosed annually with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Franco said the program will relieve some pressure on the health-care system by supporting patients before they require more advanced and emergency hospital care.
“Our goal as caregivers is to deliver the very best care we can, at the very earliest time we can,” he said. “Prevention is time, and this program will give back so much of it to our Islanders, and our hospitals.”
Victoria Hospitals Foundation chief executive Avery Brohman said philanthropy plays an important role in strengthening health care.
“We have the utmost respect for Dr. Franco and his team for their dedication to heart health, and the most heartfelt gratitude for Al and Eileen for being catalysts of lifesaving change,” Brohman said.
The program is centred at the Vascular Risk and Prevention Clinic at Royal Jubilee Hospital, with funding from the Victoria Heart Institute Foundation and the SAVE BC program itself.
The program was established by a group from St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver General Hospital and the University of British Columbia Hospital.
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