With state of the art institute, Bumrungrad throbs with hope for heart patients

"The World Health Organisation estimates that cardiac diseases kill roughly 18 million people each year," says Artirat Charukitpipat, CEO of Bumrungrad International Hospital.

The results show that this trend is expected to persist and become more complex in the near future due to increased risk of the elderly developing heart disease.

"Bumrungrad International Hospital recognises the importance of improving the level of care and prevention, including promoting healthy lifestyles and screening and early detection programmes for risk factors such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol," Artirat said.

The Bumrungrad Heart Institute is the outcome of the hospital's ambitious vision, said Prof Dr Koonlawee Nademanee, cardiologist and director of the institute.

"Bumrungrad Heart Institute aims for the most complete therapy and best outcomes for patients with all types of heart disorders," said Koonlawee.

"We strive to be a state-of-the-art medical centre in all fields of cardiology, including coronary artery disease, arrhythmia, advanced heart failure and heart transplantation, structural heart disease, cardiogenetics, congenital heart disease, cardiac screening, and preventive treatment," he said.

Koonlawee also shared about having a cardiac care facility that provides 24-hour care for cardiac patients who require emergency treatment or post-operative recovery to enable them to return to the best of their ability as soon as possible.

Bumrungrad's board of directors and Koonlawee clearly identify research, technology, and innovation as important drivers of the heart institute's future growth and development.

Bumrungrad regularly invests in technology and equipment, including some that do not necessarily yield a profit," explains Koonlawee.

“With our expert team, the Bumrungrad Heart Institute has the potential to be a genuinely world-class centre of excellence,” he said.

Koonlawee brings a wealth of expertise and experience to the table since he was one of the world's first investigators to discover the true cause of sudden, inexplicable death or death during sleep.

Bumrungrad Heart Institute is home to one of the world's best arrhythmia facilities, which not only conducts cutting-edge research but also performs complicated catheter ablation for challenging arrhythmia cases.

The Institute has served as a tertiary referral centre for the Asia Pacific area, and it continues to develop throughout the world.

People come from all over the world for arrhythmia treatment, including the United States and Europe.

The centre is also well-known for its atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation treatment.

Koonlawee said the current project is working on AI to monitor abrupt cardiac arrest with Chulalongkorn University and King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang.

"Most importantly, we have established ourselves as an international consultant, with cross-reviews from international organisations in the United States, Europe, and Japan. Many people want to witness our work and cooperate with us," said Koonlawee.

"Cardiology is a difficult field that covers many distinct sub-specialties," said Dr Achirawin Jirakamolchaisiri, cardiologist and director of Heart Institute Operations and Service Line at Bumrungrad International Hospital.

"Each subspecialty focuses on a particular aspect of heart health, and knowing these differences is critical for providing optimal patient care and achieving the best positive patient outcomes in every situation," he said.

To demonstrate the heart institute's achievement in providing truly world-class care, Achirawin presented patient outcome data:

Coronary Heart Disease

Achirawin explained that this disease can result in heart attacks and other severe cardiac problems. In 2022, the hospital performed 812 coronary angiograms and percutaneous coronary interventions with a success rate of 99.2%, while the US benchmark was 95%. The composite complication rate is 0.39%, compared to 2.65% in the United States. After the procedure, the average length of stay is only one day.

 

Cardiac arrhythmia and electrophysiology

This subspecialty is concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of aberrant cardiac rhythms such as atrial fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia, and other arrhythmias.

"Last year, the hospital treated 183 cases of electrophysiology with a 100% success rate using atrial fibrillation ablation and a 4.35% complication rate, compared to a 6.5% complication rate in the United States," he said.

 

TAVR/TAVI

This subfield includes minimally invasive operations to replace the aortic valve in patients suffering from aortic stenosis, a condition in which the valve narrows and obstructs blood flow.

"Our heart institute had the most cases of trans-catheter aortic valve replacement [TAVR/TAVI] in Thai private hospitals, with a 100% success rate." Achirawin said.

 

Advanced heart failure and heart transplantation

This subspecialty treats patients with severe heart failure. The Bumrungrad Heart Institute is Thailand's first and only private hospital with heart transplant capabilities, and it has achieved JCI clinical care programme certification.

 

Coronary bypass surgery

This subspecialty entails surgical methods to bypass blocked or narrowed coronary arteries.

Achirawin revealed that there were 430 cardiothoracic procedures performed last year, with 71 of them being coronary artery bypass grafts. In-hospital mortality was zero, compared to 2.1% in the United States. Also, there was no post-op stroke while the standard was set at 3%.

 

Cardiac rehabilitation is a subspecialty

It delivers supervised exercise and lifestyle modification programmes to patients to help them recover from heart disease and avoid future cardiac crises.

"With our cardiac rehabilitation, 100% [benchmark 90%] of our post-op bypass surgery patients achieved ideal functional status in seven days, while 97% [benchmark 90%] of our post-PCI patients achieved optimal functional status in 4 days," said Achirawin.

 

Cardiogenetics

"We study the genetic basis of cardiovascular illness, such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and familial hypercholesterolemia," he said.

Developments in technology and genetic knowledge have made it feasible to test for specific genes and determine one's susceptibility to heart disease.

"DNA testing has the potential to save the lives of those who have not yet developed symptoms. It can also aid those who want to start a family. Last year, we had 360 screenings," he added.

 

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