Waikato Cardiothoracic Unit

21/07/2026

Oral health and cardiovascular health are more closely connected than many people realise.

In this conversation, cardiologist Dr Zach DeBoard from Waikato Cardiothoracic Unit and dentist Dr Nick Williams discuss the relationship between gum disease, inflammation and cardiovascular health, exploring the evidence behind this important connection and what it means for long-term health.

Learn more about Dr DeBoard's work at: www.northislandcardiacsurgery.com

21/07/2026

David McCormack doesn't just fix hearts, he's changing how we learn about them

What started as a way to explain heart surgery to his daughters has become an innovative educational tool with global reach.

David's AI-powered game, Heart Heroes, is helping patients, students and healthcare professionals better understand cardiac surgery through interactive learning; proving that education can be just as innovative as the care we provide.

A fantastic achievement and well-deserved recognition on the front page of the Waikato Times.

It took David McCormack 16 years to become a heart surgeon, but the Waikato doctor has created a game allowing those with far less expertise to try their hand at it.

13/06/2026

What a way to finish an incredible week at Fieldays Mystery Creek.

Today our team took heart rhythm screening beyond the Health Hub and out to the exhibitors, bringing cardiovascular health checks directly to people across the site. With the sun shining and spirits high, we saw a steady stream of visitors of all ages stopping by for a quick heart rhythm check.

We even managed to do some rhythm screening inside a giant brain and a giant colon: proving that heart health conversations can happen just about anywhere!

Over the four days, our team completed 1,748 heart rhythm screenings using the Kardia device. More importantly, we identified over 30 people with abnormal heart rhythms, who were provided with a letter to take to their healthcare provider for further assessment and follow-up.

A huge thank you to the nurses, surgeons, perfusionists, physiologists and volunteers who gave their time to make this happen. Community events like Fieldays are a powerful reminder that early detection and simple conversations can make a real difference.

The weather turned it on, the team brought the energy and together we helped keep the pulse of Fieldays beating strong.

Until next year 🐄 🚜 ❤️🫀


Health New Zealand - Te Whatu Ora
Health NZ - Waikato

12/06/2026

Day 3 at Fieldays was about the Kids 👏

With lots of local schools having teacher-only days, the Health Hub was buzzing with future healthcare professionals.

We had great conversations about careers in health, plenty of fierce competition in our microdexterity challenge and continued our heart rhythm checks throughout the day.

It's been awesome seeing so many young people engage with health in a fun, hands-on way.

One more day to go ☀️

11/06/2026

Another great day at Fieldays chatting with visitors about heart health, medical careers, and rhythm disorders!

A handful of folks were found to have some newly diagnosed heart rhythm issues and received referrals for additional tests and possibly specialist visits if needed.

Our team was grateful to have chats with lawmakers from across the political spectrum.

Looking forward to the next 2 days to promote awareness of heart disease and help folks get their rhythm sorted!

10/06/2026

Are you a rhythm rockstar? 🎸 🥁
Is your rhythm sorted? ❤️ 🎶

The sun is up & gates at Fieldays are about to open. It might be crisp outside so come warm up in the Health Hub on E street.

Our team will be on site every day to provide free heart rhythm checks!

Swing by to have a chat about heart health, medical careers, and try your hand at some keyhole surgery with our simulators!

There’s prizes for kids and be sure to grab a photo to claim your rhythm rockstar status! 🎵 🎸 🎤 🥁

02/06/2026

✈️ All cleared for a landing at Hamilton International Airport for healthy hearts at Fieldays®🛬

Our team had a great time providing heart rhythm checks for the Hamilton Airport NZ crew last week.

Hardworking folks from Air New Zealand, Aviation Security, New Zealand, Civil Aviation Authority of NZ, New Zealand Customs, & Waikato Tourism joined Nurse Specialist Kelsey Abercrombie and Cardiac Surgeon Zach DeBoard to learn about heart rhythm issues and get their rhythm sorted.

A big thanks to the Hamilton Airport NZ leadership for hosting and all the above for promoting heart health. Hamilton Airport NZ is one of the front doors to Fieldays and supports the arrival of many out of town visitors and exhibitors. Our team appreciates the farmers and ag business folks & we can't wait to see you at the Health Hub Fieldays® this 10-13 June. Stop by and have a chat with our team about heart health, medical career opportunities, and get a free & quick heart rhythm check. We'll have games for kids and visitors can try their hand at some minimally invasive surgical skills.

Our aviation & farm workers for keeping the Waikato (and New Zealand) moving - we're here to keep them moving if needed, too.

Catching heart rhythm issues early saves lives - so join us as we take off to Fieldays® to screen visitors for heart rhythm issues. 🛫






Health New Zealand - Te Whatu Ora
Health NZ - Waikato
The Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand

27/03/2026

🚨 🇳🇿 Day 3 Recap for the 2026 Annual Cardiothoracic Surgery Meeting of Aotearoa New Zealand 🇳🇿 🚨

Our conference finished strong with advancements & challenges in perioperative care. First off was a review of outcomes after implementing endoscopic vein (and now radial artery) harvest for CABG. Our own Jacque Roberts, Georgia Miller, and Kelsey Abercrombie.

Dr Graeme Porter from Tauranga hospital and Health New Zealand - Bay of Plenty cardiology highlighted challenges for patients from rural areas and their clinicians preparing for surgery.

Dr Daniel Garofalo shared experiences with Pacific Islands Pacemaker Services and how we can help our neighbours in nearby countries.

The legendary Dr Ianthe Boden brought home concepts in postoperative physiotherapy.

Finally we were again fortunate to hear from Robert Groom about high fidelity simulation in resource challenged areas. A wonderfully diverse group of speakers from various disciplines, sharing their inspiring work.

Huge thanks for all attendees, sponsors, speakers for an excellent conference. It was so great to see progressive conversation, collaboration, and motivation to deliver excellent care to our patients!

None of this could be possible without the vision from Obex Medical and the expertise of Sarah Jonson!

See you for the 2027 meeting in Christchurch! Waikato out 🎤

26/03/2026

🚨 🇳🇿 Day 2 Recap of the Annual Cardiothoracic Surgery Meeting of Aotearoa New Zealand 🇳🇿 🚨

It was great to start off with a talk on patient & cultural perspectives to better integrate personalised care plans. We were fortunate to have Dr Anna Rolleston lend us her time & research to share ways we can improve our care delivery.

We were then challenged to Think Aorta by Alfred Health’s vascular medicine specialist Dr Geoff Lester. A story of resilience, tremendous accomplishment, and ongoing drive to improve the role of patient voices & awareness to a complex and serious disease. He later shared the mission of hearts4heart.

Afterwards we took to the skies to learn about opportunities to integrate improved team culture and safety from experts in the aerospace industry. ✈️

Air New Zealand Captain Nathan Johnston was joined by Dr Marcus Lee to discuss implementing strategies for safety in high stakes environments.

Marina Kunz then shared her work on designing systems for just culture & high reliability. Both talks had innumerable applications to health care.

Professor Martin Stiles & Dr John Doty reviewed the role of arrhythmia teams & atrial fibrillation ablation encouraging us to help patients get their rhythms sorted.

Finally we were fortunate to have presidents from The Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand and ANZSCTS share the history and future of their societies- be sure to join & help progress care in our regions. Thanks to Dr. Mayanna Lund and Dr. Ashutosh Hardikar!

We wrapped up an engaging day Trinity Wharf Tauranga with a delegate dinner Classic Flyers Conference & Events Centre.

He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata

Stay tuned as we come in for landing on day 3!





Intermountain Health
Health New Zealand - Te Whatu Ora
Health NZ - Waikato
University of Auckland - Waipapa Taumata Rau

25/03/2026

🚨 🇳🇿 Day 1 Recap of the 2026 Annual Cardiothoracic Surgery Meeting of Aotearoa New Zealand 🇳🇿 🚨 held in Tauranga at Trinity Wharf Tauranga .

A full line up of our international experts was a great way to kick off this year’s programme! 🇯🇵 🇦🇺 🇺🇸 🇰🇪

Day 1 took off with abstract presentations and launched straight in to Thoracic Innovations. Dr’s Andrew Maloney from Wellstar Health System and Damien Boyd from St Vincent's Health Australia discussed topics on palliative medicine for heart teams and post operative pain management.

Dr. Ianthe Boden from University of Tasmania and Launceston Hospital shared her groundbreaking work in physiotherapy and new trial data looking at reducing postoperative complications.

Our other international speakers rounded out the afternoon to share their world-class care delivery on complex heart failure and minimally invasive cardiac surgery.

We were privileged to have Dr. Stephen McKellar & John Doty from Intermountain Health in Utah and Dr. Soh Hosoba from Nagoya present their cutting edge work. Robert Groom from AGC Tenwek Cardiothoracic Centre discussed shock team development to finish the early afternoon sessions.

Johnson & Johnson sponsored a VATS simulation skills lab- hosted by our own Dr. Felicity Meikle.

Stay tuned for the Day 2 recap!