About the Department of Cardiology, Pulmonology and Angiology at University Hospital RWTH Aachen
According to the Focus magazine, the Department of Cardiology, Pulmonology and Angiology at the University Hospital RWTH Aachen ranks among the top German medical facilities specializing in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases!
The department offers all the modern medical options for the diagnostics and treatment of diseases of the cardiovascular system and lungs. The department's doctors have extensive experience and expert knowledge for the provision of competent medical care to patients with coronary heart disease, heart failure, arrhythmias, heart valve defects, cardiomyopathies, as well as hypertension. All the advanced diagnostic methods are available in the department. Special attention is paid to interventional therapy of various cardiovascular pathologies. The Chief Physician of the department is Prof. Dr. med. Nikolaus Marx.
The department is structurally divided into specialized sections, in which patients with specific clinical indications are treated. The health of patients is in the hands of the specialized doctors who are responsible for the interventional therapy of heart valve diseases and classical interventional cardiology, treatment of cardiac arrhythmias, non-invasive and hybrid imaging, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in heart and lung failure, therapy of heart failure and implantation of mechanical heart support systems.
The most important value for each department's employee is the health of patients, their satisfaction with treatment results and medical care. The department has a friendly atmosphere, each patient feels caring and respectful attitude. All this in combination with advanced infrastructure and innovative treatment methods guarantees top-class medical service.
The service range of the department includes:
- Interventional treatment of heart valve diseases and classical interventional cardiology
- Diagnostic services
- Left heart catheterization
- Right heart catheterization
- Lung angiography
- Right ventricular myocardial biopsy
- Pericardiocentesis
- Intravascular ultrasound examination
- Optical coherence tomography
- Assessment of fractional and instant blood flow reserve
- Acetylcholine testing (for example, in vasospastic angina pectoris)
- Therapeutic services
- Percutaneous coronary interventions
- Coronary revascularization
- Conventional balloon dilatation using a drug-coated balloon
- Implantation of drug-coated coronary stents
- Rotablation
- Complex coronary interventions in case of the risk of development of bifurcation and stenosis of the main trunk using temporary ventricular support systems (Impella)
- Recanalization in chronic vascular occlusion using antegrade and retrograde methods
- Implantation of mechanical heart support systems
- Auxiliary systems for the left ventricle (Impella 2.5 and CP, ECMO)
- Auxiliary systems for the right ventricle (Impella)
- Intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation
- Interventional therapy for heart valve diseases
- Transcatheter aortic valve implantation in severe aortic stenosis (transfemoral, transaortic or transapical access, Valve-in-Valve technique)
- Interventional therapy in severe mitral insufficiency (MitraClip, Cardioband, Carillon)
- Interventional therapy in severe tricuspid valve insufficiency
- Balloon valvuloplasty in severe symptomatic stenosis of the aorta and mitral valve
- Catheter therapy for structural heart diseases
- Interventional closure of open arterial window and atrial septal defect
- Interventional closure of ventricular septal defect
- Interventional atrial abdominal defect closure (LAA occluder)
- Alcohol ablation in hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (TASH procedure)
- Interventional closure of paravertebral leaks after surgical valve replacement
- Interventional closure of coronary fistulas using special coils
- Percutaneous coronary interventions
- Diagnostic services
- Diagnostics and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias
- Catheter ablation
- Cardioversion
- Implantation of pacemakers, defibrillators, cardiac resynchronization therapy
- Special diagnostics in tachycardia, dizziness and fainting
- Special genetic diagnostics in heart pathologies
- Non-invasive and hybrid imaging
- Transesophageal echocardiography
- Stress echocardiography
- 3D echocardiography
- Color Doppler echocardiography
- Hybrid imaging examinations
- Cardiac MRI
- Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in cardiopulmonary failure
- Prevention of cardiovascular diseases through the diagnostics and treatment of dyslipidemia
- Other diagnostic and therapeutic options
Curriculum vitae
Education
- 1988 - 1994 Study of Medicine in Mainz, Geneva and Duesseldorf.
- 1994 3rd State Examination in Medicine, University of Duesseldorf.
- 1994 Thesis defense with honors and doctoral degree, Institute of Pathology, Mainz.
- 1994 and 1995 Part 1 and Part 2 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE).
Professional Сareer
- 01.12.1994 - 31.05.1996 Internship, Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Rechts der Isar Munich.
- 01.06.1996 - 30.06.1997 Assistant Physician, German Heart Center and the Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Rechts der Isar Munich.
- 01.07.1997 - 30.06.1999 Scholar of the German Research Foundation, researches at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
- 01.08.1999 - 31.08.2003 Assistant Physician, Department of Internal Medicine II, University Hospital Ulm.
- 18.06.2002 Habilitation in Internal Medicine and Venia legendi (Internal Medicine). Subject: "Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors as modulators of the inflammatory response in atherogenesis".
- 01.08.2002 Board certification in Internal Medicine.
- 13.08.2003 Specialization in Cardiology.
- 09.2003 - 09.2008 Senior Physician, Department of Internal Medicine II, University Hospital Ulm.
- 23.02.2005 Optional training in Special General Intensive Care.
- 30.04.2005 Extraordinary Professor.
- 30.03.2006 Theoretical Bases of the Radiation Protection.
- 02.2007 Invitation to the position of Professor of Biology of the Cardiovascular System of St. George`s University of London, Great Britain (refusal).
- 02.2008 2nd place in the list for the position of W3 Professor of Cardiology at the Faculty of Medicine at the Kiel University.
- 10.2008 - 10.2009 Leading Senior Physician, Department of Internal Medicine II, University Hospital Ulm.
- 07.2009 Invitation to the position of W3 Professor of Internal Medicine/Cardiology, RWTH Aachen University.
- 11.2009 Invitation to the position of W3 Professor in Cardiology and Angiology, University of Giessen (refusal).
- Since 11.2009 Head of the Department of Cardiology, Pulmonology and Angiology at the University Hospital RWTH Aachen.
- 11.2004 Additional qualification in Interventional Cardiology.
Scholarships and Prizes
- 1997 - 1999 Research Scholarship of the German Research Foundation.
- 1999 Award for Outstanding Merits of Young Researchers at the 1st European Meeting on Vascular Biology and Medicine.
- 1999 Research Prize of the German Heart Foundation.
- 2000 W. H. Hauss Prize of the German Atherosclerosis Research Society.
- 2000 Finalist of the Competition of Young Researchers in Thrombosis, XXII Congress of the European Society of Cardiology.
- 2000 Encouraging Prize of the "Diabetics with Heart Diseases" Foundation.
- 2002 Poster Award of the German Diabetes Society.
- 2002 Winner of the Poster Award Competition in Epidemiological Science, 75th Meeting of the American Heart Association, Chicago, USA.
- 2004 Morgagni Young Investigator Award.
- 2004 Merckle Research Prize.
- 2009 Academic Prize of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Ulm.
- 2010 Paul Morawitz Prize of the German Society of Cardiology.
Memberships in Professional Societies
- German Society of Cardiology - Cardiovascular Research (DGK).
- European Society of Cardiology (ESC).
- American Heart Association (AHA).
- German Society of Atherosclerosis Research (DGAF).
- German Heart Foundation.
- German Diabetes Association (DDG).
- European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD).
Photo of the doctor: (c) Uniklinik RWTH Aachen