Welcome to the Maritime Heart Centre (MHC), Division of Cardiac Surgery at Nova Scotia Health and Dalhousie University. The Maritime Heart Centre serves as the sole tertiary centre for adult cardiac surgery in Nova Scotia and as the designated quaternary care centre for congenital cardiac surgery in Atlantic Canada, it is our vision to become the preferred clinical provider in Atlantic Canada. 

A brief history:

Dr. Gerald Dolan was the first formally trained cardiac surgeon to return to Halifax in 1956 and was later joined in 1963 by Dr. C. Edwin Kinley, Jr., who also recruited Alan Smith as a heart-lung technologist (Birmingham, England) and in 1967 the era of “open-heart” surgery in Halifax commenced.  

Dr. David A. Murphy, recruited in the early 1970s by the Children’s Hospital to advance development of congenital cardiac surgery, envisioned expanding all cardiac surgery services in Halifax; thus, forming the Division of Cardiac Surgery and in 1976 he established a registered society (MHC) to foster collaborative learning and research initiatives among colleagues in Anaesthesia, Cardiology, Perfusion, Radiology and Cardiac Surgery. While The MHC charity has since dissolved, Dr. Murphy’s vision for shared learning and growth remains today through our affiliations with Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia Health, and the QEII Foundation.  

Our continued partnerships, with the Division of Cardiology and referring physicians from external centres, are fundamental as we strive for excellence in our combined heart health services (i.e., Cardiac Transplant, Maritime Connective Tissue Clinic, and Transaortic Valve Implant programs, as well as expanding outreach clinics bringing specialist services to our patients).

We move forward with transparency, accountability, teamwork, and quality in the delivery of patient-centred care through evolving technology, advancing surgical techniques, research, and education initiatives.  

Dr. Jeremy Wood, Interim Division Head