Dr. Mark Olsten

Where did you complete most of your training?
Internal medicine and cardiology in at the University of Toronto, Interventional Cardiology training at University of Toronto.

What is your special area of interest?
1. Interventional therapies for adults with congenital and acquired structural heart disease
2. Percutaneous Valve Therapies
3. Percutaneous Ventricular assist devices

What is the best thing about working in CHD?
It is an honor to work with a group of patients who we, as clinicians, have so much to learn from. Most patients with CHD have been through the medical system as an infant/child in one form or another. Their courage and determination is inspiring to us all. The unique problems and challenges of performing interventional (less invasive) therapies and then seeing the patients’ improvement afterwards is a great reward.

What is one thing that you think that all patients with CHD should know?Despite the fact that many CHD patients had life saving surgeries as a child, these treatments do not have a lifetime guarantee. With improved understanding of CHD and advances in medical as well as interventional therapies, we are able to offer treatments that were not available as recently as 5 years ago. It's important that patients continue to keep in contact with their CHD physicians so that we can spot potential problems early and treat them before the damage is irreversible.

If you weren’t a doctor, what would you be?
That's a tough one. There were two things I wanted to be when I was a kid. A doctor and a hockey player. Since I'm a little old to try out for the Maple Leafs, I think I'll stick to my other love; medicine.