Diagnostic for Cardiosurgery in Germany

Heart surgery is used to treat heart defects, coronary heart disease, vascular aneurysms and other cardiovascular pathologies. Many patients prefer to receive medical care abroad. One of the most popular destinations for medical tourism remains Germany. German health care is considered one of the best in the world. It offers well developed high-tech medical fields, such as cardiac and vascular surgery. The diagnostic procedures serve to assess the feasibility of an operation and to select the appropriate technique for the surgical treatment of cardiac diseases.

Diagnostic methods

The following diagnostic methods are used in cardiac surgery:

• ECG. The electrocardiogram is prescribed to all patients without exception who are admitted to a cardiac surgery hospital. This is the basic examination, which allows the doctor to assess the basic functions of the heart muscle, such as contractility, excitability, automatism. The ECG can detect signs of myocardial ischemia, metabolic disorders, hypertrophy of various parts of the heart.
• Echocardiography. It is an ultrasound scan of the heart and adjacent vessels. This technique is applied for the assessment of the organ structure. The scanning also allows the doctor to detect many functional disorders. The ultrasound examination is carried out for the detection of areas with insufficient blood supply of the myocardium, necrosis, blood clots inside the heart chambers. The scanning helps to evaluate the cardiac muscle contractility, to detect signs of pulmonary hypertension and venous stasis. Thanks to ultrasound diagnostics, the doctor can diagnose the majority of valvular heart diseases.
• Stress ECG. The cardiogram is made after climbing stairs, while running on a treadmill or fitness bicycle training with increasing load. The technique helps to detect silent types of coronary heart disease. It also reveals arrhythmias or myocardial repolarization disorders, which occur only when a person does some physical activities.
• Stress ultrasound examination. It is an ultrasound scan of the heart after physical activity or the administration of drugs, which stimulate the cardiac muscle, is used in the case of controversial results of ECG, as well as if the electrocardiography is not informative. It is possible, if the formation of the trace is initially violated, since the examination is carried out in the case of serious disease, which causes significant changes in the ECG trace.
• Coronarography. It is a technique, which is always used within cardiac surgery hospital during the planning of surgical treatment of coronary heart disease. It allows the doctors to accurately assess the coronary artery patency, the presence of intravascular blood clots or signs of destruction of atherosclerotic plaques. Coronarography involves an X-ray examination after the administration of a contrast medium into the arteries.
• Myocardial perfusion imaging. It allows the doctors to accurately localize the areas of ​​ischemia, to determine the viability of cardiac muscle. It is a radionuclide technique. The isotopes are injected into the body, and the heart accumulates them. The doctors compare the degree of their accumulation at rest and during physical activity. A decrease in accumulation during physical activity indicates silent ischemia, which occurs only in the case of physical activity or stress. The accumulation defects determined at rest indicate myocardial infarction and post-infarction cicatricial changes in the heart muscle.
• Cardiac electrophysiological testing. It is used for the diagnostics of cardiac arrhythmias. It is intended for the assessment of myocardial conduction and rhythm. The electrical stimulation of different parts of the heart is carried out during the examination. The stimulation can be invasive or non-invasive (via the esophagus).

German hospitals often use other examination techniques, such as multislice computed tomography and CT angiography, MRI, 24-hour blood pressure and heart rate monitoring, orthostatic test, dopplerography, laboratory tests.

Which hospitals can offer the diagnostics and medical treatment?

To receive medical care abroad, you can contact one of the top German hospitals. Although the cost of services here can be quite high, it fully corresponds to the quality of diagnostics and treatment. In German hospitals, you can undergo the examination, coronary artery bypass grafting or balloon angioplasty, cure valvular heart defects and other pathologies. Here are some examples of medical facilities abroad, which are often visited by medical tourists:

• Charite University Hospital Berlin. The Department of Cardiac Surgery at the Charite Hospital is considered one of the best in Germany in the field of operations on the organs of the cardiovascular system. It uses minimally invasive catheter techniques, performs coronary artery bypass grafting on a beating heart and minimally invasive aortic root reconstruction. The department’s scope of tasks also includes modern cardiac surgical interventions aimed at the treatment of severe arrhythmias.
• University Hospital of Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. The Department of Cardiac Surgery performs more than 2,500 operations annually. The hospital has modern techniques for the diagnostics of coronary heart disease and other pathologies. During the preparation for surgery, the patients undergo stress ECG, coronary angiography, myocardial scintigraphy, PET or MRI.
• University Hospital Frankfurt am Main. The Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery employs talented doctors. The priority fields of their work are coronary artery bypass grafting, heart valve reconstruction and replacement, treatment of thoracic aortic diseases. The patients with heart failure can undergo an artificial heart implantation at the hospital.

Organization of medical treatment with the Booking Health company

You can book the diagnostic or treatment program using Booking Health service in order to take full advantage of German healthcare and to receive the highest level of medical services. Our company provides the following benefits:

• Selection of the best hospital, which specializes in the diagnostics and treatment of certain groups of heart diseases.
• Preparation and formation of the program taking into account the results of previously performed examinations.
• The cost of medical services is reduced to 50% due to the absence of coefficients for foreign patients.
• Booking the appointment with a doctor on the convenient date for you.
• Establishment of communication with your attending physician.
• Monitoring of treatment program and medical services.
• Buying and forwarding of medicines.
• Communication with the hospital after treatment completion.
• Control of costs of medical services, return of unspent funds after program completion.
• Organization of additional examination or treatment.

The experts of the Booking Health company will help you to prepare the documents, book airline tickets and a hotel abroad, arrange a transfer from the airport to the hospital and back.