Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery

What Are Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery?

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death among the population worldwide. A cardiologist deals with their diagnosis and treatment. This specialist also identifies risk factors and causes of certain diseases in their patients, analyzes the obtained diagnostic findings, and develops a program of post-therapy rehabilitation.

Cardiac surgery also deals with cardiovascular diseases cases, but only those who need surgical treatment. Cardiac surgeons often work in close collaboration with cardiologists: such an approach gives the best results.

Patients should consult with a cardiologist (or even seek emergency care) about the following complaints and symptoms:

  1. Pain and chest pressure. In the case of heart diseases, such symptoms are often accompanied by pain in the left arm and shoulder blade, pale skin, cold sweat, and fatigue. This set of symptoms is characteristic of a heart attack—a medical emergency that can cause death if not managed by specialists.
  2. Chest pain and shortness of breath on exertion. These may be signs of angina.
  3. Heart palpitation and feeling unwell. This symptom occurs in heart diseases for no apparent cause (it does not follow physical activity or stress).
  4. Shortness of breath on exertion, leg swelling, rapid fatigability—all this may indicate heart failure.

You should visit a cardiologist if you have these risk factors:

  • the age of 40 and older;
  • a family history of cardiovascular diseases;
  • diabetes or thyroid problems;
  • a history of a stroke;
  • smoking;

The cardiologist will conduct a complete examination and patient survey and prescribe additional tests and examinations based on the data obtained. If the disease requires surgical treatment (for example, severe atherosclerosis, heart defects), the cardiologist refers the patient to a cardiac surgeon.

The Most Common Diseases

In most cases, a cardiologist faces these diseases in their everyday work:

  1. Cholesterol accumulates on the inner wall of a vessel and later turns into thick calcium-impregnated plaques. There is no non-surgical treatment for fatty deposits: being the only method, surgery is used for severe cases. Heart attacks, angina, aneurysms, arteritis are but a few examples of diseases often caused by atherosclerosis.
  2. Hypertension is high blood pressure. This disease may lead to damage to the eyes, kidneys, heart, and brain if not controlled at the proper time.
  3. Valvular heart diseases. Valvular heart diseases (stenosis, prolapses, insufficiency, etc.) are often cured through surgery: eliminating the cause of disturbed flow is of crucial importance. Therefore, a cardiac surgeon consultation cannot be omitted in this case.
  4. Arrhythmia means irregular heartbeat. Major heart centers have a special doctor, an arrhythmologist.
  5. Heart failure. For various reasons, the heart fails to provide organs and tissues with a sufficient amount of blood. Oxygen and nutrients deficiency leads to various trophic disorders, tissue hypoxia, and hemostasis.
  6. Thrombosis (mainly venous). It is the formation of a blood clot within a vein, which blocks blood flow.

The diseases that often require the involvement of cardiac surgeons in the treatment include valvular heart diseases, aneurysms, ischemic heart disease, severe atherosclerosis, thrombosis, and heart attacks. Congenital anomalies of the cardiovascular system that cause certain symptoms affecting the quality of the person’s life and their further development also belong to this group.

Heart Diseases Treatment Methods

Surgery

In foreign clinics, a council of several cardiologists and cardiac surgeons decides whether a patient needs surgery or not. They analyze each clinical case thoroughly and re-assess the results of the diagnostic testing.

Atherosclerosis is a problem that requires surgical treatment most often. To determine the indications for surgery, angiography is used. It is an imaging test that gives the most accurate view of the vessel, which helps estimate the amount of its narrowing or dilation and see any obstacles to blood flow. Surgery does not involve incisions: the surgeon performs only a small puncture in the skin. The procedure is performed in an operating room using X-ray imaging.

Cardiac surgery in developed countries (Israel, Germany, and some others) has such advantages as the up-to-date equipment of operating rooms, strong experience, and qualification of local specialists. Abroad, minimally invasive surgery is doctors’ first choice since it involves minimal damage to tissues. The duration of postoperative observation of the case is minimized; the risk of various complications is lower.

Modern diagnostic and surgical equipment enables doctors to achieve excellent results in treating serious cardiac problems. Such operations are off-pump ones and involve no cardiopulmonary bypass, which is more preferable for debilitated or elderly patients because they are at risk of complications. Timely and comprehensive rehabilitation contributes to the success of cardiac surgery.

Non-Surgical Treatment

Cardiology mostly uses drug therapy. This method helps eliminate the disease symptoms (pain, ischemia, etc.) and reduce the amount of “bad” cholesterol, blood pressure and swelling, etc. A competent therapy scheme can bring the cardiovascular system back to normal.

Cardiologists often prescribe the following medications:

  • antihypertensives;
  • diuretics;
  • antiarrhythmics;
  • antiplatelet drugs;
  • anticoagulants;
  • statins;
  • beta-blockers;
  • vasoprotectives and vasodilators;
  • antihypoxic drugs and antioxidants;
  • venotonic drugs;
  • minerals (magnesium, potassium).

Most foreign doctors have academic degrees and titles and exchange experience with colleagues from other countries. The specialists are members of international communities in their specialties and participants of research projects. All this makes their work faultless and able to bring their patients back to a happy life.

Rehabilitation

Recovery from cardiovascular diseases is a long process that often involves a radical lifestyle change. Patients should reconsider their:

  • daily routine;
  • diet;
  • unhealthy habits (drinking alcohol, smoking, etc.);
  • mental state.

Rehabilitation includes three steps:

  1. Hospital stay: it takes 1–3 weeks, which the patient spends in the clinic, taking medications and doing remedial gymnastics under the supervision of healthcare workers. During this period, the primary skills lost during the illness are restored.
  2. Post-hospital therapy: up to one year. The patient gradually gets used to the new life in a health resort or at home.
  3. Maintenance therapy: the rest of the patient’s life. Its main purpose is to prevent recurrent cardiovascular diseases and promote healthy living.

Hospitals — 12

Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery — лечение в Hadassah hospital

Jerusalem, Israel

Average speed of response

Average level of demand

  • 1913 – foundation year
  • 1 189 beds
  • 850 specialists

Hadassah is a medical center considered one of the largest in Israel, where patients worldwide undergo examination, treatment, and recovery. The hospital is located in Jerusalem, there are two locations: Mount Scopus and Hadassah Ein Karem.

Treatment price

Please inquire

Cost of an estimate

Free of charge

Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery — лечение в Rambam Medical Center

Haifa, Israel

Average speed of response

Average level of demand

  • 1 000 beds
  • 6 labs,
  • 36 inpatient departments
  • 45 outpatient departments

One of Israel’s leading public hospitals, Rambam, is located in the city of Haifa and has everything necessary to provide first-class medical service to patients worldwide. Here they carry out diagnostics, therapy, and rehabilitation of children and adults with various ailments, ranging from hearing and vision problems to malignant tumors of internal organs.

Treatment price

Please inquire

Receive an estimate

Free of charge

Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery — лечение в Shamir Medical Center (Assaf Harofeh)

Tel Aviv, Israel

Average speed of response

Average level of demand

  • 1948 – foundation year
  • 1000 beds
  • 3 400 medical personnel
  • 460 specialists

The Yitzhak Shamir Hospital is a modern center for treatment and diagnostics, which, in terms of the number of patients and staff, as well as the range of services provided, ranks 3rd among the state medical institutions. It occupies an area of about 0.3 hectares and is located in Beer Yaakov. Until 2017, the clinic was called Asaf HaRofe and was renamed in honor of the Israeli Prime Minister in the early 90s of the twentieth century.

Treatment price

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Receive an estimate

Free of charge

Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery — лечение в Shaare Zedek Medical Center

Jerusalem, Israel

Average speed of response

Average level of demand

  • 1 000 beds
  • 30 inpatient departments
  • 70 outpatient departments
  • 28 000 surgeries per annum
  • 150 000 patients per annum

Shaare Zedek is a hospital with more than a century of history (founded in 1902) with 1,000 beds and a wide range of medical services for patients from Israel and other countries. It was initially located on Jaffa Street in Jerusalem but was subsequently moved to the western part of the city. Since 2013, a branch of the Bikur Holim clinic has been operating with two maternity wards and offices of specialized specialists.

Treatment price

Please inquire

Cost of an estimate

Free of charge

Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery — лечение в Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov)

Tel Aviv, Israel

Quick response time

High demand among patients

  • 150 departments
  • 500 specialists
  • 25 000 surgeries per annum
  • 94 000 patients per annum

The Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov) is one of the three largest Israeli hospitals, and even after being renamed in 1973, it is known among patients as the Ichilov clinic. People come here for primary examinations and verification of diagnoses, emergency care, and a wide range of surgical interventions, as well as for recovery and preventive tests. The hospital has gained popularity not only among residents but also among foreign tourists who are interested in receiving first-class medical services at reasonable prices.

Treatment price

Please inquire

Cost of an estimate

Free of charge

Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery — лечение в Assuta Hospital

Tel Aviv, Israel

Quick response time

High demand among patients

  • 1934 – foundation year
  • 400 beds
  • 765 specialists
  • 90 000 surgeries annually

The Assuta clinic chain ranks 7th in terms of profitability among Israeli medical institutions and attracts thousands of medical tourists from different parts of the world. The hospital’s history began in 1934, and the founder is Dr. Ben-Zion Harel, who arrived from Germany before the founding of Israel and opened a small center in Tel Aviv. Now, in addition to the main building, which occupies eight hectares, the network includes ten more clinics and dozens of clinical and inpatient departments throughout Israel.

Treatment price

Please inquire

Cost of an estimate

Free of charge

Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery — лечение в Herzliya medical center

Herzliya, Israel

Average speed of response

Average level of demand

  • 550 specialists
  • 120 departments
  • 8 000 patients annually
  • 20 000 surgeries annually

Topping many popularity ratings among Israeli and foreign patients, Herzliya Medical Center is a new-generation medical facility where patients can expect prompt and qualified care at fair prices.

Treatment price

Please inquire

Cost of an estimate

Free of charge

Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery — лечение в Sheba Medical Center

Ramat-Gan, Israel

Average response speed

Average level of demand

  • 150 departments
  • 1990 beds
  • 1000+ medical specialists
  • 1M+ patients yearly

Having gone from an ordinary military hospital to an internationally recognized medical center, the Sheba Clinic has a huge clinical, rehabilitation, and research base, annually occupying the highest high positions in the ratings of Israeli hospitals. It has the status of a university center and about 150 departments. Sheba actively cooperates with other medical institutions in Israel, the USA, Germany, Japan, and other countries.

Treatment price

Please inquire

Cost of an estimate

Free of charge

Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery — лечение в Rudolfinerhaus Private Hospital (Rudolfinerhaus Privatklinik)

Vienna, Austria

Average speed of response

Average level of demand

  • Founded in 1882
  • 156 beds
  • over 500 specialists

The Rudolfinerhaus Clinic, which began its activity thanks to Dr. Theodor Billroth in the second half of the nineteenth century, is now one of the leading private diagnostic and treatment centers not only in Vienna and Austria but throughout Europe. Adhering to the principle of providing high-quality service to each patient, the hospital is constantly introducing the latest technologies and improving the conditions for patients’ stay, as well as creating opportunities for comfortable treatment of foreign patients. The clinic is multidisciplinary – they treat here with various pathologies of the heart, nervous and urinary systems, blood vessels, oncology, and many other health problems.

Treatment price

Please inquire

Cost of an estimate

Free of charge

Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery — лечение в Confraternität Private Hospital (Privatklinik Confraternität)

Vienna, Austria

Quick response time

High demand among patients

  • 3 operating theaters
  • 2 procedure rooms
  • 96 beds
  • 2 beds in the interdisciplinary sleep laboratory

The Confraternität Privatklinik was founded in 1729 and is located in the very center of Vienna, 25 km from the airport and 3.5 km from the railway station. The clinic is a multidisciplinary private medical institution providing patients with high-quality diagnostic and therapeutic services.

Treatment price

Please inquire

Cost of an estimate

Free of charge

Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery — лечение в Vienna General Hospital—Allgemeines Krankenhaus der Stadt Wien

Vienna, Austria

Average speed of response

Average level of demand

  • Founded in 1693
  • 2,137 beds
  • 1,464 specialists
  • 26 multidisciplinary clinics
  • 42 clinical institutes

A modern advanced university hospital with over three hundred years of history and thousands of employees. AKH is the oldest university hospital in Europe. With the capacity of 30 clinics and partner institutions, the Central Clinical Hospital of Vienna is rightfully considered one of the largest and most popular medical institutions among patients (including foreigners) in the country. AKH is called “a city within a city” because its vast territory has everything necessary for living, diagnosing, treating, and rehabilitating patients, as well as accommodating their accompanying persons.

Treatment price

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Receive an estimate

Free of charge

Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery — лечение в Wiener Privatklinik

Vienna, Austria

Quick response time

In high demand among patients

  • Founded in 1929
  • 7 specialized departments
  • 130 beds
  • 4 operating theatres

Wiener Privatklinik is a hospital successfully operating since 1929 in the heart of the Austrian capital, where it successfully helps to fight a variety of cardiological, neurological, urological, oncological, and other diseases. In addition to the highest quality of medical care, the Vienna Private Hospital is distinguished by its advantageous location and efficient organization of treatment.

Treatment price

Please inquire

Cost of an estimate

Free of charge

Treatment inquiry

To patients