The Cardiovascular Critical Care Unit (initially known as the Coronary Care Unit) was created in 1971 to admit patients with acute myocardial infarction, or other acute cardiovascular diseases. It also dealt with cardiac surgery post-operative care. In 1989 the unit was divided into two. The current Cardiovascular Critical Care Unit became responsible for the patients and became a part of the Cardiology Department.

The unit has 10 hospital beds for critical patients and 4 for semi-critical patients.Around 1,000 patients are admitted each year. Out of these admissions, two-thirds are due to an acute myocardial infarction. The remaining admissions are the result of other acute cardiovascular diseases, such as:

• Heart failure
• Non-ischaemic cardiogenic shock
• Cardiopulmonary arrest and other serious tachyarrhythmias and bradyarrhythmias
• Acute aortic syndrome 
• Cardiac tamponade 
• Admissions after complicated structural or electrophysiological interventional procedures 

The unit also provides 24 hour support for cardiac emergencies via Vall d’Hebron Accident and Emergency Services. It also cares for outpatients.

The Cardiovascular Critical Care Unit offers the following advanced equipment and procedures: 

• Continuous electrocardiogram and haemodynamic monitoring
• Electrocatheter implants 
• Transthoracic and transoesophageal echocardiograms 
• Pericardiocentesis 
• Non-invasive and invasive ventilator support 
• Circulatory support with a balloon pump 
• Impella and ECMO veno-arterial device 
• Therapeutic hypothermia 
• Dialysis systems

 

Main diseases related to this speciality

Acute myocardial infarction and other acute heart diseases
This is the main cause for admission to the Cardiovascular Critical Care Unit. An acute myocardial infarction occurs when cholesterol plaques build up in the coronary arteries. These take the blood to the myocardium, the heart’s muscle tissue that is responsible for pumping the blood around the blood stream. When the blood flow in the coronary arteries decreases, a myocardial ischaemia occurs. It usually causes a pain similar to pressure on the chest, known as chest angina. When the coronary artery is completely obstructed, an acute myocardial infarction occurs which causes heart cells to die. 

It is a serious illness and requires the artery to be opened immediately. This is usually done with a catheterisation. The patient is then admitted to the Cardiovascular Critical Care Unit. Their vital signs are monitored and any drugs needed are administered.Imaging tests and invasive procedures are done, if necessary. Possible complications, such as arrhythmias, cardiac arrest or repeat ischaemic episodes, are also treated.

Acute, or chronic flare-up, heart failure and cardiogenic shock
Heart failure is the heart’s inability to supply the blood properly to the rest of the body.The most frequent causes are ischaemic and myocardial heart disease. The main symptoms are difficulty in breathing and congestion of the entire body.
The most extreme level of heart failure is cardiogenic shock.This occurs when the heart has almost no capacity to pump blood and impacts on other organs such as the kidneys, liver, lungs, intestine or the brain. The treatment consists of coronary revascularisation, which is surgery to recover blood flow in the artery. Drugs and mechanical circulatory support systems are also used. A heart transplant is the last resort.

Cardiopulmonary arrest
Ventricular arrhythmias are a heartbeat disorder coming from the ventricles, which are the heart’s lower cavities. They can cause cardiopulmonary arrest if they occur in the context of an acute myocardial infarction or any other heart disease. Breathing and the heartbeat suddenly stop. They may cause the person's death if they are not immediately reanimated. Reanimation is done with heart massage, defibrillating with an electric shock and assisted breathing. 

The most feared outcome after reanimation is brain damage. This may occur due to the lack of blood supply during the arrest. These patients are admitted to the Cardiovascular Critical Care Unit where they get brain support and protection while they recover.

Ventricular tachycardia and arrhythmic storm
Another reason for admissions is sustained or repeated ventricular arrhythmias. They are known as arrhythmic storms and can have serious consequences.They occur in patients affected by an infarction or other advanced structural heart disease. Patients with arrhythmias caused by hereditary heart disease also suffer from them.

Anti-arrhythmia treatment and ablation of the tachycardias, or fitting a defibrillator, are needed to stabilise the patient. In the most serious cases assisted breathing and circulation support devices may be necessary. 

Atrioventricular block
This consists of the loss of electrical connection between the heart’s atria and ventricles. It frequently occurs in the elderly due to degeneration. It causes a very slow heartbeat. It can turn into fainting (syncope), a sudden, temporary loss of consciousness or heart failure. It is treated by fitting a pacemaker. 

Acute aortic syndrome
The aorta is the body’s main artery. It may split, suffer internal bleeding or an ulcer on the walls. This can lead to very serious consequences, such as a rupture to the artery or a lack of blood flow to any organ. It frequently requires emergency surgical treatment.

Complications in congenital heart disease in adults and complications during pregnancy and postpartum in patients with congenital heart disease or other heart disease
The Cardiology Department is a benchmark for congenital heart disease in adults. The Cardiovascular Critical Care Unit cares for complications arising from the disease. For example, those occurring during pregnancy or postpartum. The unit provides complex surgical procedures for these cases. 

 

Research

The Cardiovascular Critical Care Unit has a long tradition of research. It researches the fields of thrombosis, prognostic factors and complications in acute myocardial infarction, heart failure and cardiopulmonary arrest. It also studies nursing care for cardiovascular disease. 

Its members have their own lines of research and participate in several research networks. The results of the research are regularly presented at cardiology conferences. They are also published in Spanish and international scientific journals. Several members of the unit belong to Catalan, Spanish and European scientific associations focusing on acute cardiovascular diseases.

 

Education 

The Cardiovascular Critical Care Unit's team of professionals take part in academic education and practical training on the medicine and nursing degree courses. Cardiology residents usually spend time at the unit, along with residents in other specialities at the hospital. Residents from other hospitals in the Vall d’Hebron area and from other Spanish, European and Latin American hospitals also do so, where they are interested in training in caring for acute cardiovascular disease. 

The unit's professionals regularly take part in training activities outside the hospital. They run master’s courses in cardiovascular disease, and collaborate on them. One of the unit’s members currently coordinates the Advanced Clinical Simulation Centre at Vall d’Hebron.

 

Experts

The Cardiovascular Critical Care Unit consists of medical and nursing professionals, assistants, porters and administrative staff. They work as a team and in close collaboration with the rest of the Cardiology Department and other departments at the hospital. The medical staff consists of a section head and four assistants, plus on-call doctors and residents. 

The nursing team consists of a supervisor and thirty-two professionals. They are spread over four 12 hour shifts. Mercè Andorrà López is the current nursing supervisor.

Why does a transversal line make sense for treating aortic disease?

Classically this condition has been treated by surgeons. In recent years it has been proven that the only way to improve diagnosis and treatment is to treat the subject in a multidisciplinary manner. Certainly, when the aorta is broken it is vital to offer prompt, careful surgical treatment, but the medical goal is to try not to break it, or to indicate the surgery before the risk is too high. There are two reasons behind aortic disease developing. Firstly, we find genetic disorders such as Marfan syndrome, bicuspid aorta, etc. And on the other hand, we find hypertension or atherosclerosis. It is therefore very important to have a genetics unit, to take into account family history and risk factors, excellent support through imaging techniques (echocardiography, CT and MRI) and a good cardiovascular surgery team. The Multidisciplinary Aortic Diseases Unit at the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital was set up because most of these requirements are already met.

 

When did we start and how have we evolved?

For 20 years now we have been monitoring all sick people receiving medical discharge after having overcome an acute aortic syndrome, which is a risky condition that can lead to very serious complications. We are one of the leading groups in the protocolised monitoring of this disease. This experience has provided us with a unique knowledge of this disease.

More recently, our interest has expanded to genetic or congenital diseases that may affect the aorta. An important turning point was the creation of the Marfan Syndrome Multidisciplinary Unit in 2009. This Unit, a leading centre in Catalonia, has the purpose of offering patients integral assistance for all their related problems.

 

Programme aim

To improve the care provided for aortic pathology in terms of prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

 

Prevention and diagnosis

To inform specialists and general practitioners when the disease should be suspected: family history, genetic diseases, valvular heart disease, atherosclerosis. Proper diagnostic strategy and control of risk factors (ADHD, smoking, etc.)

 

Surgical / endovascular treatment

Appropriate indications, selection of cases, and intraoperative support for optimisation of surgical or endovascular treatment, in both urgent and scheduled actions.

 

The Echocardiography and Cardiac Imaging Unit looks after and manages the needs of a great number of people. It has the most advanced technology and heads up knowledge about the speciality. It is a multi-disciplinary unit and brings together caring for people, research and training in day-to-day activities. It has extensive experience in achieving clinical and research breakthroughs. The unit has achieved and published many research milestones.

The unit's services portfolio includes the following: 

Echocardiography laboratory
Each year, this services carries out:

• 23,000 transthoracic echocardiograms. These include bi-dimensional and advanced 3D and 4D echocardiograms, using Strain to analyse myocardial deformation. 
• 1,000 transoesophagal echocardiograms with bi-dimensional and advanced 3D and 4D imaging and 3D-CAT fusion. 
• 150 stress echocardiograms, including exercise and pharmaceutical stress. The unit is certified by the Spanish Cardiology Society, under the SCS Excellence programme, and by the European Cardiology Society.

Transoesophagal echocardiogram guiding for heart valve surgery or structural procedures
Over the past few years, this technique has been included into new procedures to guide the cardiac surgery team. For example, it is used in the aortic valve percutaneous implant, percutaneous repair to the mitral valve, closing the left atrium and closing intracardiac shunts. 

Basal and stress cardiac MRI, cardiac and coronary CAT scans and cardiac and large vessel CT angiography
The unit carries out studies on the diagnostics using images of the myocardial, coronary, pericardial and aorta disease. These are done in collaboration with the Radiology Department. The unit is certified by the European Cardiology Society.

 

Evolution of the department

The Echocardiography and Cardiac Imaging Unit was formed in 1975, within the Cardiology Department. It was responsible for phonocardiograms - a graphic record of cardiac sounds obtained from a stethoscope - and echocardiograms - an ultrasound of the heart. With the passage of time, and technological advances, the unit has brought in other techniques in the field of cardiac imaging, such as: 

• transoesophagal echocardiogram, from inside the oesophagus
• 3D and 4D echocardiograms 
• strain studies on myocardial deformation
• computerised axial tomography (CAT)
• cardiac MRI 

These advances mean that the unit’s team are specialists in each one of the technologies. 

The team works together with the Arrhythmia Unit, the Congenital Heart Disease Unit and the Genetics, Cardiac Surgery, Vascular surgery and Paediatric Cardiology departments. Daily collaboration enables advances in the field of heart disease from the clinical and scientific research points of view.
The unit also has the following specialist sub-units: 

• The Familial Heart Disease Unit has been recognised as a Centre of Excellence in the National Health System, due to its growth in care and research. 
• The Valve Disease Unit works with the Haemodynamic Unit to offer quality care to patients with aortic and mitral heart valve disease. 
• The Complex Aortic Disease and Genetic Aortic Disease Unit has become a benchmark in the field, both in Spain and Europe. It is a part of the European Reference Network on Rare Multisystemic Vascular Diseases. 

 

Main diseases related to this speciality

Familial heart diseases
A significant proportion of the people seen in the unit suffer from some kind of familial cardiomyopathy. This is a disease caused by a defect that is genetic in origin, that causes abnormal development of the heart. In some cases it causes exaggerated thickening of the walls and, in others, dilation of the cavities. In both cases abnormal functioning of the heart occurs. Advice from other specialists in genetics and arrhythmia is essential to treat this disease. Collaboration with paediatric cardiology experts is also needed. Treatments include medicines and inserting intracardiac devices that enable the heart to work better and even, in serious cases, prevent sudden death. 

Complex and genetic aortic disease
This is an alteration to the wall of the aorta, which is the body’s main artery. It may increase in size or become more fragile. These changes may cause the artery to rupture or fissure and put the person’s life at risk. The change must be controlled and, if necessary, a surgical or endovascular procedure should be carried out. 

Valve diseases
One of the most frequent appointments at the unit is for disease in one of the four heart valves. The disease is diagnosed with an echocardiogram. The heart’s valves may deteriorate due to ageing, infectious illnesses or some congenital cause. The deterioration may cause narrowing of the valve opening. This prevents the blood from circulating properly. It may also cause incorrect closure which makes the blood go backwards, instead of moving on in the blood system. Currently, early diagnosis, follow-up and suitable treatment enable a valve diseases to be solved or improved to a considerable extent. 

The main treatment for valve disease is the surgical implant of a mechanical or biological prosthesis. Over the last decade implantable prostheses and devices have been developed to repair valves using catheterisation. This is a simple technique that is minimally invasive.

 

Treatments and diagnostic tests related to this speciality

Transthoracic echocardiogram
This studies the morphology and function of the heart using ultrasound. It is a non-invasive test, with no side effects and highly effective in diagnostics using imaging in cardiology. It enables a detailed study to be made of the heart walls’ mobility, the valves and the blood flow within the heart. Echocardiography currently uses 3D technology. This allows the heart to be studied from a more real perspective and improves the diagnosis.

Transoesophagal echocardiogram
This test also studies the morphology and function of the heart using ultrasound. In this case, it is done using a probe in the inside of the oesophagus. The patient needs to be sedated. The advantage of this test is the high resolution image it gives, which is much higher than conventional echocardiography. For this reason, where there are doubts about a diagnosis, both are done.

Transthoracic stress echocardiogram
This test also studiesthe morphologyandthe function of theheartusingultrasound. In this case,it is done with the patient pedalling a staticbicycle.It enables assessmentof the increase in coronary blood flowin patientswithischaemiccardiopathy.During the test, theelectrocardiogram andbloodpressurearecontinuouslymonitored.Thetestprovidesinformationabout possibleobstructions ofthecoronaryarteriesand, in some cases,aboutthe function of thevalves.

Multi-detector computed tomography
This technique uses X-Rays to provide multiple images of cuts or sections of the body, including the heart. A computer program puts the images obtained together again and creates a 3D view of the heart which enables precise exploration of the coronary arteries, the aorta, valve prostheses or abnormal intracardiac communications. 

Cardiac MRI
This technique also provides images of sections of the heart and the main arteries in the body. It does not use X-Rays. However, it is not advisable for patients with chronic kidney failure or implanted heart devices. It provides information about the heart’s structure and allows precise imaging of its tissue. It determines whether the heart’s tissue is made up of, or occupied by, dead cells, fibrous tissue, fat or liquid.

 

Research

The research group at the Echocardiography and Cardiac Imaging Unit has an excellent reputation in its field in Spain, Europe and worldwide. The research programme mainly receives external, highly competitive finance. It works to get to know more about heart disease and, therefore, improve people’s health care. The research group works with some organisations, such as the association of patients affected by Marfan’s syndrome (SIMA) and the José Durán Spanish Sudden Death Society.

Research is an area of work that is well consolidated and multi-disciplinary. It creates original ideas and moves forward with technological improvements. Over the past few years, the group's engineering team has developed several innovative clinical imaging analysis tools to get to know about and solve important problems. It has also published several articles in scientific journals and has taken part in several clinical trials, and multi-centre logs and research. The group also actively collaborates in projects associated with Barcelona University and Pompeu Fabra University. The unit is currently coordinating: 

• four Spanish projects: FIS and RETOS
• five European projects: Discharge, Cardiateam, iModern, EIT Health and CT-Pro
• an international log: Pfizer in cardiac amyloidosis
• five clinical trials BICATOR, LOAT, IONIS, ARRAY and DAPA-Moda

The members of the unit are a part of the European Cardiology Society’s Aortic Disease Group, the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI) and the American Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR).

 

Education 

The training programme includes:

• a specialist medical programme in Cardiology 
• for the bachelors, masters and doctorate students at the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona (UAB) 
• sub-specialities within the Cardiology speciality 
• an international grants programme 
• internationally renowned weekly scientific seminars 
• continuous medical training 

The individual members of the unit regularly take part in training activities outside the hospital. They run masters courses in cardiovascular disease, and collaborate on them. Each year the unit organises two echocardiogram courses and a meeting on cardiac MRI and CAT. 200 experts from all over the world take part in these events.

 

Experts

The Echocardiography and Cardiac Imaging Unit is made up of medical, nursing, engineering and administrative personnel, as well as technical and support staff. It works closely with other sections of the Cardiology Department and with the other hospital departments. Furthermore, over the past few years, three people with a degree in engineering have joined who are specialists in fluid dynamics. 

The medical staff consists of a coordinator and seven assistants. The nursing team consists of four specialist experts. The technical team has four experts, qualified with a specific masters from the Spanish Cardiology Society. 

The Adolescent and Adult Congenital Heart Disease Unit (UCCAA) was set up at Vall d'Hebron University Hospital more  than 40 years ago, and we have been providing paediatric care for congenital heart diseases ever since. This Unit is the result of a collaboration agreement between our Hospital and the University Hospital of Santa Creu i Sant Pau, to bring together the effort, resources and experience of these two leading hospitals in the treatment of this disease.

Outpatient visits to the UCCAA Unit take place in the Outpatient Clinic of the Maternity and Children's Hospital, next to the Paediatric Cardiology Department, meaning we can group outpatient care for cardiology of congenital heart disease in a single area. This means that we can share work stations, databases and tools (the ECO 3D) and it makes the transfer and continuity of treatment simple, from paediatric age to adulthood, for what is a congenital and life-threatening disease.

Patients who require admission are directed to the General Hospital, and stay in the cardiology ward. Depending on their clinical circumstances, some of these adult patients with congenital heart disease must be admitted onto special wards:

• Patients in critical condition: Coronary and Intensive Cardiological Care Unit of the Cardiology Department.
• Patients just out of operations: Cardiology Department Postoperative Cardiac Surgery Unit.
• Pregnant patients with congenital heart disease: the Obstetrics, Foetal Medicine and Anaesthesia Departments have created a Working Unit for High-Risk Pregnancies for women with congenital heart disease. Following an established protocol, the checks carried out by the Obstetrics Unit are set to match any necessary cardiac checks to monitor the well-being of mother and foetus during pregnancy, birth and postpartum, with a care protocol that accounts for both the heart disease and the clinical circumstances. We also provide care for cases of postpartum with cardiological risk.

In parallel with these services, there is also a clinic for reproductive counselling for women with congenital heart disease. This clinic is a part of the Adolescent and Adult Congenital Heart Disease Unit (UCCAA), carried out jointly with the Gynaecology Department at the Outpatient Clinic of the Maternity and Children's Hospital. There, a cardiologist and a gynaecologist/angiologist, experts in congenital heart disease, work together to analyse the patient depending on their individual clinical and heart disease condition and explore their chances of conceiving children. Their mission is to inform, evaluate and offer sexual health planning, discussing the reproductive possibilities of the patients living with congenital heart disease.

Heart failure is the leading cause of major hospitalisation. The ageing population and improvements in medical procedures are both factors that mean several forms of heart disease (valvular, coronary and hypertensive) end up going beyond acute phases and result in heart failure.

Though the mortality of patients during hospitalisation is not very high (4.7%), it is worrying that, once they have been discharged, the rate of readmissions and morbidity and mortality are high (50% mortality 18 months after discharge).

Our basic objectives are, on the one hand, to improve the quality of life of patients with heart failure, reducing the number of admissions, readmissions and trips to the Emergency Ward, and, on the other, to apply a protocol for medical action. This involves optimising care resources and thereby reducing the financial impact of the disease. It also means incorporating the latest technologies, depending on the needs of each patient.

The opening of a day hospital has been key. Its functions are: to monitor all patients discharged from the Hospital having suffered heart failure, once the criteria for entering the Programme have been met; to make it easier and faster for patients to access the Unit in case of decompensation or acute episodes, eliminating barriers to access. Communication with the consultation and advice line has also been improved, along with drop-in services during office hours at the day hospital, both for patients who are within the Programme and their relatives and the professionals from primary care centres.

Finally, the Unit offers an open outpatient clinic for patients who have been discharged from the Hospital as well as for those who can be referred to primary care centres, to see either doctors or nurses. The doctors: perform a rapid diagnosis of heart failure syndrome, optimise treatment and monitor patients admitted or patients attended to at the day hospital. The nurses: educate patients and their relatives in the standards of care for patients with heart failure and provide regular home and telephone contact.

As heart failure is a condition that transcends any single health field, and the Hospital is just one of the ingredients in addressing this type of patient, a Heart Failure Group has been created for this catchment area, known as the Muntanya Primary Care Department, which structures the care provided for these patients in seven basic levels that are organised as follows:

• Primary care
• Specialist consultations
• Hospital A&E
• Conventional hospitalisation
• Hospital at home
• Heart Failure Unit
• Centre for Monitoring Chronic Diseases

The Vall d’Hebron Haemodynamics Unit is a centre of excellence with extensive experience in coronary procedures. It has three theatres for operations, one of which is shared with the Arrhythmia Unit. Another one is used for hybrid procedures, with simultaneous participation of specialists in haemodynamics and experts in cardiac surgery. 

The unit has the technology and materials needed to carry out any kind of procedure, such as: 

• rotational angiography 
• optical coherence tomography 
• pressure guides 
• thrombosis capture systems 

The unit is equipped to carry out operations with ventricular assistance and support with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. It has been working in collaboration with the Pneumology Department for more than 35 years. They combine to treat pulmonary hypertension and to make the assessment before proceeding with lung transplants. The unit is a national benchmark in this field, which is 12% of its total work. It also collaborates with other hospitals internationally. 

The haemodynamics laboratory has advanced anaesthetic and cardiac resuscitation equipment, along with transthoracic, transoesophagal and intracardiac echocardiography. It has specialists working in it for paediatric procedures and for adults with congenital diseases. This guarantees care for patients of any age. 

In 2019, the Haemodynamics Unit carried out: 

• 2,165 diagnostic catheterisations
• 1,360 therapeutic catheterisations. 1,036 of these were angioplasties, of which 304 were angioplasties in the acute phase of a heart attack. 

It was the unit carrying out the most aortic valve implants in Catalonia for the twenty-third consecutive year. Some of these procedures were done using world-leading cutting-edge optimisation techniques. 

Thanks to the collaboration between specialists, more than 190 procedures are carried out on children and more than 80 on adults with congenital heart disease each year. The Cardiology Department takes part in all the structural cardiopathy programmes that need it. It also carries out hybrid procedures in surgery once a month. 

 

Diseases related to this speciality

Acute myocardial infarction and other acute heart diseases
The majority of the procedures in the Haemodynamics Unit relate to ischaemic heart disease. This occurs when cholesterol plaques build up in the coronary arteries. These take the blood to the myocardium, the heart’s muscle tissue that pumps the blood around the blood stream. When the blood flow in the coronary arteries decreases, an ischaemia or acute myocardial infarction occurs. It usually causes a pain similar to pressure on the chest, known as chest angina. When the coronary artery is completely obstructed, an acute myocardial infarction occurs which causes heart cells to die. It is a serious illness and requires the artery to be opened immediately. This is usually done with a catheterisation. The patient is subsequently admitted to the Cardiology Critical Care Unit. 

The Cardiology Department Haemodynamics Unit at Vall d’Hebron treats infarctions with catheterisation 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It is one of the benchmark hospitals providing continuous care for this illness in Catalonia. 

Heart valve disease
The majority of heart valve diseases can only be treated with cardiac surgery. When the disease is degenerative, due to age and ageing, techniques such as an aortic valve implant or a MitraClip can also be used. To decide on suitable treatment, the “heart team” intervene. This is a multi-disciplinary team, consisting of clinical, surgical, cardiology, imaging and anaesthesia experts and specialists in critical cardiac care. 

Paediatric and adult congenital heart disease
The most frequent heart disease is congenital. Techniques to treat congenital defects via the skin often supplement reconstructive surgery. Vall d’Hebron is a worldwide benchmark for this operation on people of all ages. Paediatric treatments have been developed to adapt to children’s growth and evolution. 

Pulmonary hypertension/lung transplant
Increase in pressure in the pulmonary arteries may be a secondary disorder to other cardiac or pulmonary disease, or also may be a primary problem. The treatment for this disease requires monitoring to control the pressure’s reaction to the drugs. The patient can be monitored using right heart catheterisation and using the vascular/pulmonary remodelling study with intravascular ultrasound. Patients having a lung transplant must undergo a series of cardiac tests beforehand, to ensure the success of the operation. The tests are catheterisation and coronary revascularisation. Catheterisations are also done in a situation of isometric and dynamic physical exercise to assess the heart’s response to the effort. 

 

Treatments and diagnostic tests related to this speciality

The Haemodynamics Unit carries out interventional diagnostic and interventional therapeutic catheterisations.

Interventional diagnostic catheterisations 

The most usual is the study of the heart’s anatomy using a coronary catheterisation. The procedure consists of inserting a catheter into an artery in the forearm or leg until it reaches the coronary artery. The catheter allows the radiocontrast agent to be introduced in order to visualise the artery using radioscopy. Specific material may also be inserted to unblock the artery.

Other diagnostic procedures using a catheter are as follows:

• Haemodynamic and angiocardiogram diagnostics for congenital or acquired heart disease that cannot be diagnosed with other cardiac or cardiovascular explorations
• Pulmonary arterial hypertension study
• Cardiac study prior to a lung transplant
• Endomyocardial biopsy

Interventional therapeutic catheterisations

These are procedures via the skin that enable the treatment of some heart diseases and lesions without surgery.

The most common is coronary angioplasty. This consists of unblocking the coronary artery using a catheter. This is often done in the acute phase of a myocardial infarction, along with suction of the thrombosis that obstructed the artery and caused the infarction. The catheter is also used to insert a stent, a small cylindrical mesh, to completely open the coronary artery at the obstruction point. 

The unit carries out other procedures, such as: 

• Aortic valve implants. This treatment consists of inserting an artificial valve made of biological material via a catheter, to replace the ailing aortic valve. 
• Repair of the mitral valve in cases of insufficiency. A small device is inserted to suture the defective mitral valve and reduce insufficiency. 
• Repair of congenital cardiac defects, such as atrial septal defect or patent ductus arteriosus. There is a particular repair device for each defect. It is inserted using a catheter.
• Pulmonary artery dilations, whether due to congenital narrowing or chronic pulmonary thromboembolisms caused by pulmonary hypertension.

 

Research

The Haemodynamics Unit takes active part in lines of research, for example:

• Myocardial damage, with the aim of using the knowledge for the benefit of the patients.
• The modification of stents, extendible meshes to open arteries, and the arteriosclerosis plaque with a coronary laser 
• The clinical result of closing mitral periprosthetic leaks 
• Early endothelialisation in coronary stents 
• Special coronary stents for bifurcations 
• The repercussion of pulmonary hypertension on the pulmonary arterial wall

 

Education

The Haemodynamics Unit's team of professionals takes active part in academic education and practical training on the medicine and nursing degree courses. Cardiology residents usually spend time at the unit, along with residents from other Spanish, European and Latin American hospitals who are interested in training on this sub-speciality. The unit's professional team regularly takes part in training activities outside the hospital.

Each year, the unit organises a guidance course on treating coronary bifurcations with imaging techniques. It also organises a course on choosing a catheter, as a guide for coronary angioplasty. A course in the form of practical academia on the treatment of chronic occlusions is held twice a year.

 

Experts

The Haemodynamics Unit has a section head and six assistants. They work with the nursing team, which consists of thirteen specialist professionals. The latter work in the theatres and in the hybrid operating theatre, as and when needed.

The Vall d’Hebron Cardiology Department offers specialist care, with advanced procedures and the most innovative technology. It is a pioneer in developing and running clinical-practice protocols. It provides patient-centred service and offers medical care agreed on by the entire Cardiology team. Notable features include its own Clinical Epidemiology Unit and Experimental Cardiology Laboratory. 

The Cardiology Department boasts 37 highly qualified professionals, with specific skills and training.
The team is divided up into the following units: 

• Cardiovascular Critical Care Unit 
• Arrhythmia Unit 
• Cardiac Imaging / Echocardiography, Familial Heart Disease and Aortic Pathology Unit  
• Congenital Heart Disease in Adolescents and Adults
• Haemodynamics and Interventional Cardiology Unit
• Heart Failure Unit

These units are at the forefront of heart-disease treatment and offer multidisciplinary care for patients. The department aims to meet the future challenges of cardiology. A few examples of this are the Familial Heart Disease and Complex Congenital Heart Disease Units. And procedures such as transcatheter valve implanting and treatment for pregnant women with heart disease or endocarditis.

The nursing team is also a key feature for offering excellent care. They take part in every diagnostic and therapeutic procedure, in educating patients, in secondary prevention for the early detection of diseasesand in patient rehabilitation. Their work is especially important for elderly patients with multiple illnesses. Such patients have several programmes at their disposal, including clinical care and cardiac rehabilitation for ischaemic heart disease. The programmes are provided in coordination with the referred area’s primary care and gyms. 

 

Research

The research group in cardiovascular diseases carries out basic, clinical and epidemiological research. Its aim is to generate knowledge for improving prevention and patient diagnoses and treatment.
The group has 19 main researchers and 32 clinical projects and trials currently running. It published 142 papers in 2020.

The research group is part of the CIBERCV network, the Biomedical Research Networking Centre on Cardiovascular Diseases. It collaborates in the following areas: 

• Ischaemia-reperfusion injury: cardioprotection mechanisms, ischaemic conditioning and remodelling. 
• Coronary heart disease: genetic factors involved, determining factors in thrombotic complications and prognosis-factor studies. 
• Aortic diseases: determining factors in aortic dilation, anomalies in aortic biomechanics in Marfan syndrome and new methods for obtaining images. 
• Congenital or familial heart diseases: determining genetic factors and prognosis-factor studies. 

The research group takes part in the CIBERESP, the Biomedical Research Networking Consortium on Epidemiology and Public Health. It focuses on the following aspects:

• studying effectiveness
• cost-effectiveness of cardiovascular operations
• research in health results
• clinical research methods 

  

Education and Training 

The Vall d’Hebron training programme includes:

• undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students from the Autonomous University of Barcelona
• the medical specialisation in Cardiology programme (MIR)
• post-MIR subspecialisation programmes
• ongoing medical education 

The Cardiology MIR programme’s success enables the recruitment of high-level doctors to the hospital. 

The Cardiology Department also includes and jointly supervises an international doctoral school at the University of Barcelona as well as organising important scientific meetings. Vall d’Hebron enjoys international recognition for all the above reasons as well as considerable impact on many areas of knowledge. The department’s professionals collaborate in prestigious international bodies and societies, as well as on the editorial boards of scientific magazines in their field.

Our activity at the Cardiac Surgery Department has been linked to the history of medicine and, more specifically, to the history of cardiac surgery in Catalonia. The Department's development, then, has been made possible thanks to the advances made in cardiac surgery and cardiology in general. Also relevant here is its expansion, from an initial national health system that developed into the current regional health system, regulated by the Catalan Health Service through the Catalan Health Institute.

 The history of our Department dates back to the 1960s, when Dr. Paravisini performed the first surgical operations to repair the mitral valve in the heart, known as "mitral comissurotomies”. The following years saw the beginnings of cardiac surgery using extracorporeal circulation, a technique employed for replacing the heart’s function as a pump and enabling the heart to be stopped and operated on. Surgical operations became standard by the end of the 1970s. It was not until the 80s, however, with the arrival of Dr. Murtra, that there could be said to be a protocol-based programme of operations that produced pioneering results at the time. The number of patients treated has steadily increased: from 400 cases a year using extracorporeal circulation in the 1980s, to 600 at present. 

The current catchment area covers over one million people from the north-eastern part of Catalonia, which includes the counties of Girona and Lleida and the north of the Barcelonès county. This is an extensive geographical area, though its population density is lower than others. We created the Multihospital Care Service to provide care for this area.

Resident cardiovascular surgeons and other specialist doctors working as locums for our Department, jointly take part in pre-operative studies with the Department team, both in surgical indications and in surgical procedures, with a varying degree of involvement, depending on their level of training. These doctors join the Post-Operative Cardiac Surgery Unit (UPCC) immediately after cardiac surgery, provide postoperative care on the ward, and take part in monitoring patients through outpatient consultations.

 

Units making up the Department

• Pacemaker Unit
• Aorta Unit
• Congenital Pathology Unit
• Structural Surgery Unit
• Valvular Surgery

The Arrhythmia Unit works closely with the Critical Cardiology Unit, the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Unit, and the Inpatient and Cardiac Surgery Areas. The Arrhythmia Unit was created in 1975. Since then it has expanded and specialises in various fields.
The most important are as follows: 

• ablations of complex arrhythmias in congenital heart disease in adults
• paediatric ablations
• ventricular tachycardia substrate ablations
• atrial fibrillation ablations

The Arrhythmia Unit has two theatres. One of them is completely dedicated to procedures such as:

• electrophysiological study
• atrial fibrillation ablation 
• supraventricular tachycardia ablation
• focal atrial tachycardia and macro-reentrant atrial tachycardia ablation
• premature ventricular contraction and idiopathic ventricular tachycardia ablation
• ventricular tachycardia ablation in patients with structural heart disease
• atrioventricular node ablation
• heart device implants for diagnosing and treating arrhythmias, such as pacemakers, defibrillators or resynchronisation therapy
• tilt table test
• electrical cardioversion
• drug provocation test 

The unit also has specific clinics to treat and monitor patients with cardiac arrhythmia. These include consultations about devices and five clinics dealing with the following matters: 

• channelopathy and sudden death 
• arrhythmia in congenital heart disease 
• ventricular tachycardia 
• atrial fibrillation

In 2019, the unit carried out:

• 279 ablations, 40% of which were ventricular tachycardia or arrhythmia in congenital heart disease. 
• It also fitted 99 complex intracardiac devices, such as defibrillators and resynchronisation therapy. 

The Arrhythmia Unit works jointly with the Paediatric Cardiology Department on invasive treatment of cardiac arrhythmia in paediatric patients. 

 

Diseases related to this speciality 

People can suffer from slow arrhythmia or fast arrhythmia. This often occurs in hearts affected by a cardiac disease, but also occurs in hearts with a normal structure.

The most common fast arrhythmia is atrial fibrillation, which requires medical treatment and, occasionally, ablation with a catheter. This is a safe procedure and commonly gives good results.

The most common slow arrhythmias are those that appear with age.  They are caused by degeneration of the heart’s electrical system. They usually require a pacemaker to be fitted.

  

Treatments and diagnostic tests related to this speciality

• The electrophysiological study consists of putting a catheter into the heart to analyse the electrical parameters. This is often accompanied by an ablation of the arrhythmia. 
• The ablation consists of applying an energy source to create a lesion in the place where the arrhythmia is generated.
• Fitting a pacemaker enables slow arrhythmias to be controlled. This is done using a device that generates electrical impulses. 
• Fitting a defibrillator enables fast arrhythmias to be detected. This is done using a device that generates an electrical shock so that the heart goes back to beating normally. 
• Cardiac resynchronisation therapy is used in cases of cardiac failure with a loss of power in the heart’s contraction. It consists of fitting special devices that improve the heartbeat and the patient’s quality of life. 

The Arrhythmia Unit also carries out common non-invasive procedures such as:

• 24 hour Holter monitoring. The Holteris a portable, cardiac control device.
• 3 week Holter
• Tilt tests. These tests are done to check the body’s reaction to a change of posture.

 

Research

The Arrhythmia Unit has extensive experience in researching the field of cardiac arrhythmias. It has published many times in specialist journals. The following research lines are highlights:

• Arrhythmia in congenital heart disease
• Loss of consciousness (syncope)
• Intracardiac devices
• Strokes of indeterminate origin, in collaboration with the Neurology Department
• Mechanisms involved in physiological and pathological cardiac remodelling
• Mechanisms involved in atrial fibrillation development
• Effects of air pollution on the development of arrhythmias
• Strategies for improving diagnosis of hereditary illnesses causing sudden death
• Therapies aimed at patients with hereditary illnesses causing sudden death
• Effects of COVID-19 on the development of arrhythmias

 

Education

The Arrhythmia Unit's team of professionals take active part in academic education and practical training on the medicine and nursing degree courses. Cardiology residents usually spend time at the unit, along with residents in other specialities at the hospital. Residents from other hospitals in the Vall d’Hebron area and from other Spanish, European and Latin American hospitals also do so, if they are interested in training on the treatment of arrhythmia diseases. 

The unit's team regularly takes part in training activities outside the hospital. The unit offers the following specific, staff training courses periodically: 

• Cardiac stimulation and implantable systems
• Atrial fibrillation refresher days
• Meeting of experts in arrhythmia in patients with congenital heart disease
• Course on arrhythmia in congenital heart disease

 

Experts

The Arrhythmia Unit has a coordinator and four assistants. They work with the nursing staff, consisting of seven specialist professionals, who deal with caring for patients and doing the invasive electrophysiology treatments. They also monitor patients with intracardiac devices on-site and remotely.