We have been operating on patients with pulmonary hypertension for 20 years
About eighty patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension are diagnosed annually at VFN. This relatively rare disease occurs as a chronic complication of acute pulmonary embolism, when blood clots travel from the lower limbs or pelvis into the pulmonary arteries. Despite effective treatment, blood clots do not dissolve and gradually block parts of the pulmonary circulation. These patients are helped by a special procedure called pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA). As the only workplace in the Czech Republic, the Center for Pulmonary Hypertension II performs this operation. internal clinics – cardiology and angiology clinics of the 1st Faculty of Medicine, UK and VFN. Part of the procedure is cooling the patient down to 20 °C and stopping blood circulation when extracorporeal circulation is used. The first such operation was carried out at the VFN in 2004. So far, 526 patients have undergone the unique procedure, this year a record 50 patients will be operated on. The specialized workplace ranks among the world leaders in the field and is the largest center for the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension in the Czech Republic.
