Department of Cardiology and Angiology - University Hospital Giessen UKGM

About the Department of Cardiology and Angiology at University Hospital Giessen UKGM

According to the Focus magazine, the Department of Cardiology and Angiology at the University Hospital Giessen UKGM ranks among the top German medical facilities in its areas of specialization!

The department offers the full range of diagnostics and treatment for patients with acute and chronic diseases of the cardiovascular system. The department (in collaboration with the Department of Cardiac Surgery) is integrated into the University Center for Cardiovascular Medicine. Thus, cardiologists and cardiac surgeons cooperate closely. The department has special competence in the field of interventional coronary revascularization and other cardiac interventions, electrophysiology, non-invasive tomography and cardiac MRI. Medical care is provided in accordance with relevant recommendations of the professional national and international societies. The Chief Physician of the department is Prof. Dr. med. Christian Hamm.

The department has an Intensive Care Unit, a Day Hospital, specialized Outpatient Clinics, as well as the Section of Functional Diagnostics and 3 modern Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories, which provide the best options for patient care at the highest professional level. The department performs more than 4,000 catheter interventions every year.

An important field of the department's ​​clinical practice is the implantation and maintenance of event recorders, pacemakers, implantable cardioverter defibrillators, cardiac contractility modulation devices (CCM/Optimizer®), as well as baroreceptor activation devices. The interventions are carried out in one of the modern cardiac catheterization laboratories or in a hybrid operating room. The department implants devices of all manufacturers, depending on the patient’s needs.

In the field of angiology, the department provides the diagnostics, conservative and interventional therapy, rehabilitation and prevention of diseases of the arteries, veins and lymph nodes. To make an accurate diagnosis, the department applies such modern diagnostic examinations as Doppler ultrasonography of the carotid arteries, kidney arteries, duplex ultrasonography of the peripheral arteries, veins of the lower limbs, capillary microscopy, oscillography, occlusal plethysmography, venous occlusion plethysmography. Of particular interest in this field is the treatment of peripheral arterial occlusive disease of the lower limbs, cerebrovascular disorders and venous thrombosis.

The department's spectrum of medical services includes:

• Outpatient medical care
  • Diagnostics and treatment of heart failure
  • Diagnostics and treatment of refractory hypertension
  • Diagnostics and treatment of heart valve defects
  • Cardiological diagnostics of athletes (for the assessment of the state of cardiovascular system and detection of risk factors)
  • Diagnostics and treatment of heart rhythm disorders
• Catheter diagnostics and treatment (within 3 modern Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories)
  • 24-hour medical care for patients with heart attack
  • Percutaneous coronary interventions, including vascular interventions after coronary artery bypass grafting and interventions for chronic coronary occlusion
  • Left and right heart catheter diagnostics
  • Aortic valvuloplasty
  • Transcatheter aortic valve implantation
  • Mitral valvuloplasty
  • Mitra-Сlip technique for the treatment of mitral valve insufficiency
  • Interventional procedures for the closure of foramen ovale, atrial and interventricular septal defects
  • Transcoronary ablation in hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy
  • Fractional flow reserve measurement
  • Intravascular imaging
    • Intravascular ultrasound examination
    • Optical coherence tomography
  • Intra-aortic balloon pump placement
  • Rotablation, laser coronary angioplasty
  • Interventional therapy in carotid stenosis
  • Myocardial biopsy
  • Renal denervation in refractory arterial hypertension
  • Closure of the atrial appendage defect
  • Implantation of bioabsorbable stents
• Diagnostics and treatment of heart rhythm disorders
  • Orthostatic test
  • Electrical cardioversion
  • Invasive electrophysiological examination
  • Ablation therapy
    • Radiofrequency ablation
    • Cryoablation
    • Ablation in atrial fibrillation (pulmonary vein isolation) by means of classical radiofrequency ablation and ablation using special cryoballoon
    • State-of-the-art 3D mapping using cutting-edge CT/MRI systems
    • Ablation therapy in complex congenital heart defects
• Implantation of electronic devices for the maintenance of heart function
  • Implantation of pacemakers
  • Implantation of defibrillators
  • Implantation of event recorders
  • Installation of cardiac contractility modulation devices
  • Installation of baroreceptor activation systems
• Emergency cardiac care for patients with heart attack
• Diagnostics and treatment of angiological diseases
  • Occlusive disease of the peripheral arteries of the lower limbs
  • Cerebrovascular disorders
  • Venous thrombosis
• Other diagnostic and therapeutic options