Clinical Activity

A history of success

Silesian Center for Heart Diseases in Zabrze welcomed its first patient in 1984. Since then, thousands of patients entered Center’s doors, convinced that the place has enormous potential and experience to treat the heart disease . Such believe one can only have when the past determines the present. The Center’s history may be not be long, yet it is fulfilled with exceptional achievements, both medical and scientific.

Since Silesian Center made headlines in 1985 as the first medical center in Poland to perform successful heart transplantation (by Prof. Zbigniew Religa), it has remained at the forefront of cardiac surgery and cardiology. In 1987 Dr Marian Zembala performed first bilateral internal thoracic artery harvesting in ischemic heart disease in Poland.

Following steps of heart pioneers from Toulouse, our cardiologists restored patency in  myocardial infarction. Treating acute coronary syndromes with primary angioplasty became a new standard (1986) Abovementioned Zabrze model of acute coronary syndrome treatment,introduced by Stanisław Pasyk and developed by Lech Poloński and Zbigniew Kalarus and their students,  has been then remastered and introduced nationwide. Today, it is considered to be an exemplary in this part of Europe.

In 2001 Marian Zembala performed first successful  heart and lung transplantation in Poland. A year later, first in Poland simultaneous heart and kidney transplantation was carried out in 43-years old patient with irreversible damage of these organs. In 2003 a 55-years old patient with severe pulmonary fibrosis underwent successful single lung transplantation.

Clinical Departments of Silesian University of Medicine, working within Silesian Center for Heart Diseases, provide 179 beds adapted to the western standards. Our highly qualified medical staff guarantees the best possible treatment, professional care and rehabilitation during hospitalization.Our service-oriented environment always puts the patient first.

Only in 2008 (January 1st – November 1) our Center admitted :

4980 patients  - Departments of Cardiology
2403 patients - Departament of Cardiac Surgery and Transplantation
1306 patients - Departament of Congenital Heart Disease and Pediatric Cardiology

In our cath lab 3189 coronarographies, 1692 coronary angioplasty were performed as well as 33 myocardial biopses in patients with myocarditis or after heart transplantation.
Our electrophysiologists implanted 386 pacemakers, 98 defibrillators. Our cardiologists carried out 179 ablations.

Within clinical activitiy of Departament of Congenital Heart Disease and pediatric cardiology, 326 interventional catheterizations were performed and 202 transcatheter closure procedures of atrial or ventricular septal defects using Amplatzer system.

1355 procedures using extracorporeal circulation were carried out at Department of Cardiac Surgery and Transplantation, including 687 coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and 482 complex valve surgeries. 24 heart and 4 lung transplantations were performed.

More than 38 000 consultations were given in our out-patient specialized clinics.

Silesian Center for Heart Diseases is a public hospital, afiliated with Medical University of Silesia