A multi-million dollar Cardiac Diagnostic Unit expected to benefit tens of thousands of patients this year alone was officially opened yesterday at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

The unit has been in the planning stages for six years but only came to fruition after the Bermuda Heart Foundation (BHF) received one of the largest single donations by an individual ever given in Bermuda, Chief of Cardiology Dr. Shane Marshall said in opening the wing.

Philanthropist David Barber donated $1 million in memory of his late wife. The new hospital wing on the third floor which resulted has been named the Mary and David Barber Cardiac Diagnostic Unit.

Resplendent in a red brocade jacket with matching bow-tie, Mr. Barber yesterday cut the ribbon on the wing in a small ceremony.

"This is an exciting day for me," he said. "If my wife Mary were here to see it she would be so proud of what we accomplished - state-of-the-art cardiac wing that will benefit all the people of Bermuda.

"Mary and I loved Bermuda so much that in all our extensive travels, which included four world cruises and many shorter cruises, we have never found an island to compare with beautiful Bermuda."

More than 50 percent of the population can be expected to suffer cardiac disease, Dr. Marshall said yesterday, adding that is the number one cause of death in Bermuda.

Staff at the new unit hope to turn that situation around through the generosity of Mr. Barber, an entrepreneur and businessman who began his career with the opening of a single restaurant.

Mr. Barber followed that with the purchase, renovation and operation of the Coral Island Hotel and Banana Beach Club.

His construction company built several Hamilton buildings including the Forty Thieves Building on Front Street.

It was on Front Street that Mr. Barber met his wife of 59 years. The two were married in 1937.

"His love for his late wife Mary, and his foresight to help all people with cardiac disease, made it possible to create what you see before you today," Dr. Marshall said.

Dr. Marshall also thanked other BHF donors who have helped ensure the unit is fully equipped with the latest technology, as well as hospital staff and the architects who designed the office.

The new wing is equipped with ten patient rooms, three offices and a staff room and reception area.

"Their smiles are so big now," Bermuda Hospital Board chairman Edward Saunders said of the cardiac staff.

"Before, their quarters were so cramped they couldn't smile, but now, they're smiling."

Dr. Marshall told The Royal Gazette the cardiac unit had been operating in the same area of the hospital but with just half the square footage.

Prior to construction of the new unit, the remainder of the space was unused rooftop.

The new facility comes in addition to millions of dollars worth of lifesaving equipment that the BHF has already purchased, including a Digital Image Analysis Machine and Telemetry, which allows the constant monitoring of up to eight patients' vital signs at once.

At the opening ceremony yesterday, guests were taken through demonstrations of the medical equipment the unit hopes will save countless lives in Bermuda.

More than 3,000 cardiac procedures are performed every month at the hospital, medical programme manager Norma Smith told The Royal Gazette.

Technicians demonstrated a number of the procedures offered at the unit yesterday including ECG monitoring, portable heart monitors which record patient's indicators while they are at home, stress testing, monitoring of pace makers and defibrillators and sonogram monitoring of blood flow and heart valves.