Research Honouree - Dr. Stuart Connolly

Dr. Stuart Connolly is Director of the Division of Cardiology at Hamilton Health Sciences. He is a clinical specialist in cardiac arrhythmia. Before becoming Director of the Division of Cardiology, he initiated and then led the Arrhythmia Service at Hamilton Health Sciences. 

Dr. Connolly’s research contribution has been in the evaluation of arrhythmia treatment. He has led more than two dozen large randomized controlled trials over the past 20 years. His most notable contributions have been to develop the knowledge that oral anticoagulation reduces the risk of stroke in atrial fibrillation and that implantable cardioverter defibrillators reduce mortality in patients with documented cardiac arrhythmia. 

Dr. Connolly leads the Arrhythmia research group at Population Health Research Institute. Currently, this group leads many large randomized controlled trials of treatment for the management of atrial fibrillation, bradycardia and defibrillator therapy. These trials include more than 40,000 patients currently enrolled and involve more than 1,000 centers in 40 countries.