Cardiology and cardiac surgery in Spain

Cardiovascular disease is the world’s leading cause of death. The level of cardiology care in Spain aligns with the level of development of medicine in general.

Did you know that the incidence of heart attacks in Spain and other Mediterranean countries is almost half that of its northern neighbors? Cardiologists around the world have a number of explanations for this fact. However, an interesting yet simple explanation is living a healthy lifestyle, namely:

• healthy diet (it’s no accident that Mediterranean cuisine is considered one of the healthiest in the world)
• healthy lifestyle (with exercise)
• a positive state of mind (the bright Mediterranean sun helps in this aspect)
• no bad habits (when it comes to alcohol, doctors are very clear: no more than a glass of wine per day!)
• no genetic predisposition

MOST COMMON HEART DISEASES:

• Arrhythmia, tachycardia
• Congenital heart disease
• Hypertension
• Myocardial infarction
• Angina pectoris
• Aortic aneurysm
• Cardiomyopathy and myocardial dystrophy
• Pericarditis
• Endocarditis

WARNING SIGNS

• Acute pain behind the sternum
• Heart palpitations
• Shortness of breath
• Increased fatigue, weakness, and dizziness
• Cyanosis

If one have one or more of these symptoms, immediately consult a cardiologist for a complete medical examination.

The tools used to detect cardiovascular risks and diseases include the ECG, echo-echocardiography, angiography, MRI and heart CT scan, stress tests and monitoring. An early diagnosis is vitally importance, so getting your heart checked after the age of 40 is highly recommended. Not to mention elite athletes! By the way, this is where we let you in on where the FC Barcelona players are treated.

HEART TREATMENT IN BARCELONA

There are a range of medical and surgical treatments for cardiovascular diseases. Today, there are many drugs that improve myocardium and blood vessel function. As a rule, this type of treatment should always be accompanied by a healthy lifestyle and diet.

Barcelona is proud of its achievements in the field of cardiology and cardiac surgery. Spanish specialists Dr. Josep Brugada (a name every medical student in the world knows because of the disease named after him), Dr. Valentin Fuster and Dr. Antonio Bayés de Luna, are among the most cited cardiologists in the world, as are pediatric cardiac surgeons like Dr. José María Caffarena and Dr. Raúl Abella.

Spanish clinics and hospitals, particularly those in Barcelona (Teknon, Quirón, Dexeus, Hospital Clínic and Sant Joan de Déu Children’s Hospital), are home to cardiologists of international prestige, many of whom are considered world experts in their respective fields.

These centers offer the most efficient diagnostic methods, cutting-edge treatment protocols, minimally invasive techniques and cardiac rehabilitation. When choosing a specialist or hospital, it is important to weigh the experience of the center and the surgical team (the so-called “critical mass” of cases), as well as indicators like complexity, survival and complications. Barcelona’s Hospital Clínic, specialized in cases of greater complexity, is a stand-out center in this regard, as is the Centro Médico Teknon, which in recent years has become the private center that performs the highest number of surgeries.

The excellent equipment at these hospitals also make it possible to apply the latest techniques. For example, most of the procedures performed in these centers are done in hybrid operating rooms equipped with advanced medical imaging devices. The surgeon uses these devices to observe the position and status of the internal organs, blood vessels and surgical instruments in real time. The most innovative technologies, combined with the extensive experience of the specialists, make what might seem impossible possible: in Barcelona today, patients can have a heart valve replaced through catheters inserted through a small incision in the groin in just 30 minutes. This means not only reduced risks and a quick recovery, but also the possibility of performing operations on elderly patients with serious heart issues.

Pediatric cardiology and cardiac surgery in Spain have also achieved outstanding results in recent years: what seemed impossible 15 years ago now is reality! Surgical mortality was 30% in the 1970s, and fell to 10-15% in the 1980s; today, medical science has advanced to such a degree that we can save a child with any heart disease.

Major indications for surgery:

• Ablation
• Pacemaker
• Non-surgical implantation
• Coronary bypass
• Heart valve replacement
• Mechanical and bioprosthetic heart valves

INTERESTING!

Pediatric cardiac surgery is one of the few fields of medicine in which the rating of the surgeon and the surgical service is easy to access with just a few details. And not only by their positions and distinctions in the scientific community and the Pub Med index (which, in terms of surgery results, remains difficult to recognize as the main indicator), but by the registration of all operations in the Aristotle Score. The “Aristotle Score” was launched in 2004. The score was developed by US insurers, who wanted to pay for extremely costly surgeries depending on the level of complexity of the procedure, relating complexity to results.

It is evident that a survival rate of 99% is not indicative if only simple procedures are performed; if a clinic doesn’t treat complex cases, then the statistic prove nothing. Cardiothoracic surgeons from 23 countries and 50 of the world’s leading centers participated in the creation of the Aristotle Score. The result was a system of indicators that makes it possible to objectively evaluate surgery complexity (complexity = possibility of mortality + possibility of complications + technical difficulty). The correlation between complexity and results is an objective indicator for rating a cardiac surgeon. The best European and American centers register all these indicators, and are audited by several committees. The publication of the results in scientific literature again also allows physicians to benchmark and understand the actual situation of different hospitals…the Aristotle score is designed for 145 cardiac surgeries and always scores procedures on a scale of 1.5 (the simplest procedure) to 15 (extremely complex).

SPORTS CARDIOLOGY IN BARCELONA

The patients who seek out the best cardiologists include elite athletes. Many famous international athletes regularly get a heart exam in Barcelona. Hospital Clínic Barcelona has one of the most active international sports cardiology groups, a multidisciplinary team of specialists responsible for both for screening programs for some of the world’s elite sports teams (for example, they provide health services to Barça players) and treating athletes’ cardiovascular diseases. Arrhythmias, heart valve diseases, congenital diseases and cardiomyopathy are quite common among professional athletes. The decision for the athlete to return to the sport should always be made by the top sports cardiology experts and based on the most modern diagnostic methods.

Over 6,000 professional athletes from around the world (around 600 of which well-known athletes from other countries) have been treated in Hospital Clínic’s sports cardiology programs over the past six years. The results of a study on athletes conducted at Hospital Clinic – Barnaclinic show that about one in every 40 professional athletes requires additional diagnostic methods, in addition to routine screening programs; about one in every 250 athletes is diagnosed with severe coronary artery disease, which requires interrupts a career; and one in every 150 athletes requires specific treatment to continue playing.