1. IMPLANTABLE LOOP RECORDER

An implantable loop recorder (ILR) is a type of heart-monitoring device that records your heart rhythm continuously for up to three years. It is a small device about the size of a USB memory stick that is implanted just under the skin of the chest. It records the electrical signals of your heart. The ILR is a useful diagnostic tool when patients experience symptoms such as syncope (fainting), seizures, recurrent palpitations, lightheadedness, or dizziness regularly but not often enough to be captured by a 24-hour or 14-day external monitor. Because of the ILR’s long battery life (up to 3 years), the heart can be monitored for an extended period.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The ILR is implanted by a Cardiologist under local anesthesia. A small incision (about 3–4 cm) is made just lateral to the sternum below the nipple line, usually on the patient’s left side. A pocket is created under the skin, and the ILR is placed in the pocket. Patients can go home the day of the procedure with few restrictions on activities. Bruising and discomfort in the implant area may persist for several weeks. Patients are instructed in use of the activator, and advised to schedule an appointment with their physician after using it so that information stored in the ILR can be retrieved for diagnosis.

2. Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI)

The Department of Cardiology and Angiology includes the Emergency cardiac care unit, the General cardiological outpatient clinic and the Cardiac catheterization laboratory. Availability of its own Cardiac catheterization laboratory makes it possible to carry out invasive examination in pathologies of great vessels, heart valves and septum of the heart, as well as in structural changes of the myocardium. The interventional treatment for atrial and ventricular septal defects, annuloplasty and mitral valve replacement are also performed at Cardiac catheterization laboratory. The department has been certified as a Center for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) and an Interdisciplinary Center for the Treatment of Heart Failure. The Department of Cardiology and Angiology cooperates closely with the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery. Together, doctors implant and replace cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators.