Cardiovascular Diseases and Cardiac Surgery
Information about the centre
The Departments of Cardiovascular Diseases and Cardiac Surgery at Leuven University Hospitals together form the largest Heart Centre in Belgium. With 33 intensive care beds (post-operative and ICCU), 15 medium care beds and four wards with 152 beds, the Centre offers state-of-the-art management of various cardiovascular diseases and is considered as a centre of excellence by Circulation, journal of the American Heart Association. read more
The close cooperation between cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, intensivists, nursing staff, physical therapists, exercise physiologists and registered dieticians ensures that cardiac patients benefit from an integrated programme of care from the moment they are admitted right through until they are discharged (or, where necessary, referred for outpatient treatment).
The high volume of patients and the availability of the most cutting-edge devices and diagnostic techniques enable physicians to build up a wealth of clinical and technical experience.
Cardiovascular Diseases
The division of Cardiovascular Diseases is renowned for its pioneering work on ischemic heart disease and its leading role in Europe in clinical investigation and in different cardiovascular care programs, including congenital heart disease, cardiac transplantation and electrophysiology.
A large number of patients have been treated invasively over the last 30 years:
- Coronary Heart Disease:
Percutaneous Coronary Interventions: >31.000 - Valvular Heart Disease:
Percutaneous Interventions: Mitral Stenosis > 250 , Aortic Stenosis > 100 - Congenital Heart Disease:
Percutaneous Interventions: > 4.000 - Arrhythmia:
Ablations: > 2.600
Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator: >700
Cardiac Resynchronisation Therapy: >90
Stefan Janssens, MD, PhD, FESC, FAHA, FISHR, Head of the Department of Cardiovascular Diseases
Frans Van de Werf, MD, PhD, FESC, FACC, FAHA. The division is renowned for its pioneering work on thrombolysis. Professor Van de Werf treated the first 5 patients in the world at the Leuven University Hospitals. He sits on the board of the European Society of Cardiology and is the editor-in-chief of the European Heart Journal. read CV
Dr T. Adriaenssens | Dr J. Ganame | Dr P. Sinnaeve |
Cardiac Surgery
The department of Cardiac Surgery has been well established at Leuven University Hospitals since 1957. It is the largest cardiac surgical unit in the country performing more than 1,200 open cardiac procedures annually. The hospital's clinical activities also benefit from ongoing development and scientific progress achieved via the Centre for Experimental Cardiac Surgery.
- Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG): the Department is an international reference and training centre for off-pump CABG under the guidance of Professor P. Sergeant. The Leuven CABG database contains data on more than 20,000 procedures and is an invaluable source for medical literature.
- Valve Surgery: the team of valve surgeons (Professor Dr W. Flameng, Professor P. Herijgers and Professor B. Meuris) has also specialised in specific areas such as: endocarditis, minimally invasive access procedures, reconstructive aortic surgery and reconstructive mitral surgery.
Activities in these fields have been widely reported in various publications. - Congenital Heart Surgery: the Department's extensive experience in congenital surgery (250 cases treated annually) has enabled it to build up a comprehensive database; our team also works closely with interventional paediatric cardiologists.
- Pulmonary Thromboendarterectomy: the Department adopts a multidisciplinary approach to these complex procedures - an approach which has ensured a high degree of success to date (15 cases annually).
- Heart Failure: Cardiac transplants are performed on an ongoing basis; the ventricular assist device (VAD) programme provides multidisciplinary treatment, including home care.
Prof Dr W. Flameng
Prof Dr P. Sergeant
Prof Dr P. Herijgers
Prof Dr B. Meuris
Contact Details
Cardiovascular Diseases and Cardiac Surgery Departments
Herestraat 49
B-3000 Leuven
