Man Hung Chiu retired with the promise of joyful travel and leisurely days with his family - until an unanticipated crisis changed everything.
Early in 2023, while visiting Hong Kong, Man Hung began having chest pain during a hike uphill. The pain went as quickly as it arrived, so he didn’t give it much thought. But the pain, while fleeting, continued to reoccur after his return to Canada.
That April, after breakfast, Man Hung planned to go for a walk with his wife around the lake in their neighbourhood. As soon as he walked out of the house, unexpected and intense back pain started. He returned inside to lie down on the sofa, but he was so uncomfortable he simply stretched out on the floor. His wife, concerned that he could barely move, immediately called 911.
Man Hung had experienced a severe heart attack and required resuscitation. Despite efforts to stabilize him at two other facilities, his condition worsened, necessitating another transfer to St. Paul’s Hospital, the provincial referral centre for the most complex cardiac cases. He arrived on a life support system: the situation was dire.
Man Hung’s heart was failing and his chances of survival were statistically small. But Dr. Anson Cheung, after examination and testing, insisted he was a good candidate for a heart transplant.
“When people come to you in very critically ill condition, unfortunately many of them do not make it. And hearts for transplant are a very limited resource,” says Dr. Cheung. “However, Man Hung was young and quite active prior to having his major heart attack. And we hoped that by providing this life-saving gift, we could help him get better and get back to a lot more quality of life.”
Says Man Hung: “I was really grateful to the team for being so well-prepared. It gave me hope that I would survive. I was happy and grateful that they would be able to save my life.”
Two weeks later, Dr. Cheung implanted Man Hung’s new heart.
Leadership in cardiac and transplant care
St. Paul’s Hospital is the only centre in the province to perform adult heart transplants, and the only facility in BC where highly specialized cardiac care for patients with advanced heart failure and heart transplants is fully integrated with research.
Since 1988, the hospital has performed more than 600 life-saving heart transplants on patients. Many of those transplants were completed by Dr. Cheung, a leader in cardiac surgery.
There is a vast network of health professionals working in concert like a finely tuned orchestra to conduct these heart transplants, including nurses, social workers, cardiologists, surgeons, anesthesiologists, perfusionists, radiologists, dietitians, physiotherapists, and more. They guide patients through the process, from preparation to recovery, and provide care that’s grounded in compassion.
“Heart surgery is always a team sport,” says Dr. Cheung. “For transplants in particular, there’s an even bigger network of people that are required to be successful. In our hospital, everything starts with the patient at the centre, and then we rally and work together to surround the patient with the care they need.”
Man Hung and his family note that in addition to Dr. Cheung’s expertise, a crucial aspect of the compassionate care they received was the ability to communicate with him in their first language, Cantonese. With Man Hung in and out of consciousness for several weeks, Dr. Cheung spoke Cantonese with his wife to explain every step of the way, which alleviated their anxieties during a very difficult time.
“I was very shocked and scared. I live a healthy lifestyle, so I didn’t expect to have such a sudden and severe heart issue,” Man Hung says. “I want to thank Dr. Cheung because he was the only one on the team who could speak Cantonese and he could communicate with me clearly. He’s also very kind and generous.”
A successful transplant, and the steady journey to renewed health
After pulling through heart transplant surgery, Man Hung began the lengthy process of recovery. He remained at St. Paul’s Hospital for six weeks, with a variety of health care professionals rallying behind him – beginning with the critical care nurses.
“I was very weak. I couldn’t move or eat well. Fortunately, the ICU nurses took very good care of me, helping with daily activities, feeding me, and helping me walk again,” Man Hung says. “They did everything for me and gave me an unlimited effort to get me through the recovery process smoothly.”
Hospital physiotherapists helped Man Hung get back on his feet and walking, a dietitian recommended optimal nutrition so he could regain strength, and transplant nurses taught him about proper medication to maintain recovery. Weeks of intubation caused some damage to his vocal chords; occupational therapy helped him re-learn to swallow while speech therapy exercises brought his words back to life.
“Everyone was amazing. The entire medical team took excellent care of me,” he says.
Giving back to patients worldwide: the Bruce McManus Cardiovascular Biobank at St. Paul’s Hospital
After his transplant, Man Hung donated his heart to the Bruce McManus Cardiovascular Biobank, one of the largest in the country.
At this bank, deposits and withdrawals are life-changing. It’s home to 100,000 anonymous human cardiovascular tissue specimens, including explanted hearts, blood vessels, heart valves, and myocardium.
Man Hung’s donation is one of 532 hearts in the facility at St. Paul’s Hospital that scientists from all over the world study to learn more about cardiovascular diseases. Ultimately, says Dr. Cheung, the goal is to transform these insights into better care for patients.
There aren’t many who can say they’ve literally held their own heart in their hands. But Man Hung has – and feels grateful and proud that his original heart now has an important purpose.
“I was in the ICU and felt hopeless. Now I can stand here and look at my own heart, and say I have a second chance at life, thanks to the St. Paul’s Hospital heart transplant team,” he says. “I’m happy to share my heart with the research team so that they can maybe invent some new method to treat heart disease in the future for other patients.”
Dr. Cheung is looking forward to deepening the integration of research and patient care at The Jim Pattison Medical Campus, which will be home to the new St. Paul’s Hospital and the adjacent Clinical Support and Research Centre. It’s a first-in-Canada health project - along the lines of Johns Hopkins and the Cleveland Clinic – with an innovation ecosystem that will help close gaps in care, offer hope to patients in need, and realize a healthier BC.
The campus will attract leaders in life sciences, medicine, and technology to work together to find cures, develop life-saving drugs, and fast-track discoveries from the lab to the hospital to communities across BC and beyond. This will have a ripple effect and elevate care for chronic and complex disease locally and around the world.
Embracing every moment with vitality
Months of rehabilitation and medical treatment followed Man Hung’s release from St. Paul’s Hospital. Now nearly two years post-transplant, Man Hung feels wonderful. He’s returned to cherished pastimes like traveling, walking, and spending time with family, and his voice has recovered enough to resume his love of singing karaoke.
“Life now is fantastic. I have a new heart and I have to take care of it, but I expect I can live very happily for the rest of my life,” he says.
After 25 years at St. Paul’s Hospital, words like these still touch Dr. Cheung’s heart.
“I don't get tired of seeing patients recover,” he says. “Seeing the smiles on their faces, seeing them get back to the activities they enjoy – it brings me incredible joy.”
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