Department of Cardiology and Angiology - University Hospital Muenster

About the Department of Cardiology and Angiology at University Hospital Muenster

According to the Focus magazine, the Department of Cardiology and Angiology at the University Hospital Muenster ranks among the top German medical facilities specializing in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases!

The department offers the full range of modern diagnostic and therapeutic procedures for the treatment of heart failure, coronary diseases, pathologies of the coronary and lymphatic vessels. Also, the scope of tasks of the department’s specialists includes the preparation and follow-up care for patients who need heart transplantation, сardiac diagnostic imaging and intensive care. Medical care is provided both on an inpatient and outpatient basis. The Chief Physician of the department is Prof. Dr. med. Holger Reinecke.

The department has exceptional experience in the treatment of vascular pathologies (angiology). In order to make an accurate diagnosis, all modern examinations, including the imaging ones are carried out, while the therapeutic options include drug, conservative therapy and catheter interventions for the treatment of pathological lesions of arteries, veins and capillaries. As a recognized Center for Interventional Arterial Therapy, the department offers the advanced experience in the field of stent implantation, balloon dilatation in stenoses and recanalization in progressive types of arterial occlusions of the upper and lower limbs, pelvic arteries. In order to remove calcifications (plaques) and blood clots, the department's doctors use the very latest catheters (for example, Hawk-1R, JetstreamR, PhoenixR, RotarexR). An important focus of the department’s work is research. There are conducted many clinical examinations, which include the use of new catheter procedures, as well as the monitoring of prescription of innovative drugs. One of the most relevant areas of research is the stem cell therapy in critical lower limb perfusion. Thus, the innovative treatment methods are always available for patients.

Another focus of the department’s clinical activities is internal intensive care. The Intensive Care Unit is equipped with the advanced central monitoring system, which allows the doctor to monitor the status of critical patients more effectively and immediately respond to its changes  24 hours a day. Many necessary diagnostic measures, such as bronchoscopy, gastroscopy or ultrasound examination, can be performed directly at the patient's bed without transportation from the department. The intensive care options range from non-invasive mask ventilation to kidney, liver, lung or heart replacement therapy. The Intensive Care Unit uses air sealing, therefore it provides the safe treatment of patients with especially dangerous infectious diseases. The patient is always in the focus of attention of all doctors of the Intensive Care Unit.

The department's medical team specializes in the treatment of heart failure. The therapy of this pathology requires thorough, interdisciplinary approach, so there is maintained close cooperation with all the necessary specialists. Of particular importance in interdisciplinary cooperation is the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery.

The service range of the department includes:

• Cardiac catheterization diagnostics and interventional therapy
  • Treatment of heart attack (24-hour medical care)
  • Treatment of coronary diseases
  • Use of modern technologies in stent implantation
  • Recanalization in chronic coronary occlusion
  • Fractional flow reserve measurement and intravascular ultrasound examination
  • Formation of vascular access through the ulnar artery
  • Renal denervation in refractory arterial hypertension (in collaboration with the Departments of Radiology, Nephrology)
  • Interventional methods for the closure of atrial appendage defects (as an alternative to therapy with Marcumar)
• Diagnostics and treatment of heart failure
  • Specialized care before and after heart transplantation
  • Modern non-invasive and invasive diagnostic methods for heart failure
  • Individual pharmacotherapy
  • Renal sympathetic denervation in heart failure (clinical examinations)
  • Participation in national and international clinical trials for the optimization of heart failure diagnostics and treatment
• Imaging diagnostics of the cardiovascular system
  • Digital Echocardiography Laboratory with the possibility of ultrasound examinations in accordance with the DEGUM III standard
  • Transthoracic, transesophageal 2D/3D/4D Doppler echocardiography
  • Stress echocardiography, contrast-enhanced echocardiography
  • New quantification methods of myocardial function
  • Cardiac computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (in collaboration with the Department of Radiology)
• Diagnostics and treatment of vascular diseases
  • Duplex ultrasonography
  • Light reflex rheography
  • Capillary microscopy
  • Tissue oxygen saturation measurement (tcpO2)
  • Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty
  • Balloon dilatation
  • Stent implantation
  • Local lysis therapy
  • Innovative techniques (for example, RotarexR, OutbackR, Hawk-1R, ShockwaveR, PhoenixR, JetstreamR)
• Intensive therapy (around the clock)
  • Diagnostics at the patient's bed (for example, echocardiography, sonography, bronchoscopy, gastroscopy, advanced hemodynamic monitoring, etc.)
  • Non-invasive and invasive ventilation
  • Transvenous electrical stimulation
  • Renal and liver replacement therapy (for example, SLED, CVVHDF, MARS, OPAL dialysis)
  • Lung replacement therapy (vv-ECMO, ECCO2-R)
  • Mechanical circulatory support systems (ECLS, Impella®)
  • Target temperature management after cardiac arrest (TTM)
• Other diagnostic and therapeutic options