Department of Cardiology and Angiology - Charite University Hospital Berlin

About the Department of Cardiology and Angiology at Charite University Hospital Berlin

According to the Focus magazine, the Department of Cardiology and Angiology at the Charite University Hospital Berlin is one of the best medical facilities in Germany for conservative and catheter-based treatment of heart disease! 

The department performs prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the full range of heart diseases, as well as pathologies of the arteries, veins, and lymphatic vessels. The department has modern cardiac catheterization laboratories, where all existing procedures for invasive diagnostics and angiography-guided interventional therapy of cardiac pathologies are performed. The key specialties of the department are the treatment of coronary artery disease, catheter therapy of valvular heart disease with special emphasis on the innovative TAVI and MitraClip procedures, and interventional therapy of atrial septal defects. It should be noted that the department's specialists have exceptional expertise in transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), with more than 3,000 such procedures successfully performed here since 2009. The department also has a Chest Pain Unit that provides emergency medical care to patients with acute coronary syndrome, which in many cases is a precursor to myocardial infarction. Of particular interest to the department's angiology team is the interventional treatment of vascular stenosis and obstruction of various localizations using balloon dilatation and stenting. Most treatment procedures are performed in the department on an outpatient basis. The department is headed by Prof. Dr. med. Gerhard Hindricks.

One of the main focuses of the cardiology team is the treatment of structural heart disease: valvular heart disease, ventricular septal defect, patent foramen ovale, left atrial appendage defect, and malformations of the great vessels of the heart. In this context, priority is given to the treatment of aortic, mitral, and tricuspid stenosis and insufficiency. Treatment tactics for suspected heart valve pathology are determined jointly by cardiologists and cardiac surgeons: specialists take into account the degree of stenosis or insufficiency of the affected valve, the severity of symptoms, the patient's age, and his general condition. Cardiologists most often treat aortic stenosis and insufficiency with transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). This is the most advanced, minimally invasive and highly effective procedure in which the physician does not make a single incision in the patient's chest, but performs therapeutic manipulations through a catheter inserted into a blood vessel. The department is a holder of the German Cardiac Society (DKG) quality certificate for TAVI procedures.

The cardiac catheterization laboratory is also frequently used for catheter-based treatments for mitral valve stenosis and regurgitation. Physicians offer treatment using the latest cardiac technologies: interventional procedures with the MitraClip and Pascal systems are performed here. In addition, catheter-based interventions for structural heart disease include the closure of atrial septal defects, patent foramen ovale, and left atrial appendage.

The department also has impressive clinical experience in the catheter-based treatment of coronary heart disease (CHD), the main symptoms of which are shortness of breath and angina (chest pain). This cardiopathology is caused by the deposition of atherosclerotic plaques on the walls of the coronary arteries, which leads to the deterioration of the blood supply to the myocardium. Until recently, the only effective method of treating CHD was aortocoronary bypass grafting, a traumatic operation involving the opening of the sternum and the use of a heart-lung machine. Today, the specialists of the medical facility have the possibility to treat this disease with balloon angioplasty followed by the placement of a standard stent or a drug-eluting stent. In complex cases, the cardiologists of the medical institution perform catheter-based treatment with rotational atherectomy. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) are used to plan and perform both balloon angioplasty and rotational atherectomy. This ensures high precision and safety of the treatment procedures.

The healthcare facility also provides medical care for patients with angiologic diseases. The central place in the work of doctors of this profile is the diagnosis of vascular stenosis by duplex sonography and angiography, as well as its treatment by percutaneous transluminal angioplasty, with stenting if necessary. Most patients present with peripheral arterial occlusive disease of the lower extremities (less frequently the upper extremities), renal artery stenosis, and carotid artery stenosis. If the results of the preliminary diagnostic examination reveal an acute arterial occlusion, lysis therapy is immediately performed, which involves the dissolution of the blood clot by local administration of drugs.

The department's key clinical activities include the following:

• Diagnostic services
  • Cardiology
    • Functional heart diagnostics
      • Echocardiography (heart ultrasound)
      • Stress echocardiography
      • Electrocardiography
      • Ergometry and spiroergometry
      • Long-term electrocardiography
      • 24-hour blood ambulatory pressure monitoring
      • 12-channel 24-hour ECG monitoring
    • Pulmonary function tests
      • Spirometry
      • Body plethysmography
      • Lung diffusion capacity measurement
    • Electrophysiological studies to record tachycardia and bradycardia, as well as to identify the causes of syncope
    • Diagnostic cardiac catheterization
      • Fractional flow reserve measurement
      • Optical coherence tomography
      • Intravascular ultrasound
      • Coronary flow reserve measurement
      • Intracoronary acetylcholine provocation testing
  • Angiology
    • Duplex sonography
    • Angiography
• Therapeutic services
  • Cardiology
    • Catheter-based interventional procedures
      • Catheter-based treatment of structural heart disease
        • Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) for aortic stenosis and regurgitation
        • Catheter-based procedures for the implantation of MitraClip and Pascal systems for mitral stenosis and regurgitation
        • Catheter-based closure of atrial septal defect
        • Catheter-based closure of patent foramen ovale
        • Catheter-based closure of left atrial appendage
      • Catheter-based treatment of ischemic heart disease
        • Balloon angioplasty with standard or drug-eluting stent placement
        • Rotational atherectomy
      • Catheter-based treatment of arrhythmias
        • Radiofrequency ablation
        • Pulsed field ablation
        • Pacemaker and defibrillator implantation
      • Catheter-based treatment of heart failure
        • Cardiac resynchronization therapy
        • Cardiac contractility modulation
      • Emergency cardiac care for acute coronary syndrome
  • Angiology
    • Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty with or without stenting
    • Lysis therapy
• Other medical services