IKEM

The IKEM Cardiac Center is the largest, most comprehensive and one of the oldest institutions providing cardiovascular care in the Czech Republic. The center is focused on the therapy of cardiac and vascular diseases of adult patients in their entire spectrum – congenital and acquired. The IKEM Cardiac Centre is composed of four departments and units that offer patient care in the fields of cardiology and cardiovascular surgery. The center is also focused on the prevention of civilizational diseases. It is not only a medical, but also a teaching and research center.

The history of our institution can be illustrated by the following highlights. The first aortocoronary bypass was performed as early as in 1971 and the first heart transplantation was done in 1984. The first coronary angioplasty in chronic coronary disease and the first coronary angioplasty in acute myocardial infarction in the Czech Republic were performed in our institute in 1981 and 1992, respectively. The institutional history includes also other  procedures, which were performed for the first time in the Czech Republic: implantation of a pacemaker in 1962, implantation of a cardioverter-defibrillator in 1984, radiofrequency ablation of atrioventricular node in 1983 and radiofrequency ablation of an accessory pathway in 1992 (in collaboration with Children’s Heart Center in Faculty Hospital Motol).

The Department of Cardiology and Department of Cardiovascular Surgery provide contemporary treatment of diseases such as ischemic heart disease (myocardial infarction or angina pectoris), arrhythmia (hearth rhythm disorders such as bradycardia or tachycardia, atrial fibrillation), heart failure, cardiomyopathy, valve diseases, congenital heart defects, infective endocarditis, heart tumors, pulmonary embolism, aortic dissection, syncope, pulmonary arterial hypertension, and others. As a high-volume Cardiac Center, our institution provides in many cardiovascular diseases the highest numbers of interventions in the Czech Republic. Specifically, we belong to the major providers of care in the field of advanced heart failure. Details can be obtained from the latest institutional annual report.

Center for inherited cardiovascular diseases is a part of Cardiac Center and provides patients with genetic care inclusive clinical genetic consultations and molecular genetic analysis and offers family cascade screening. Based on genetic stratification, patients receive in IKEM personalized care. The Center cooperates closely with Children´s Heart Center and Department of Biology and Medical Genetics in Faculty Hospital Motol, Prague.

Dr. Alice Krebsova