Cardiology - Division

Heart failure is a common condition in the general population, with prevalence increasing with age and reaching approximately 10% among people aged 70 and older. Although the disease is associated with significant morbidity and mortality, recent breakthroughs in treatment have led to considerable improvements in quality of life and reductions in mortality. Early diagnosis and advanced treatment are therefore critically important.

Heart failure is a clinical syndrome characterized by typical symptoms such as shortness of breath, ankle swelling, fatigue, and difficulty with physical exertion. These symptoms result from abnormalities in the structure or function of the heart, leading to reduced blood supply to the body's organs or abnormally elevated pressures within the heart chambers.

The clinic provides follow-up care for patients diagnosed with heart failure of various causes, offering diagnostic evaluation and treatment.

Remote Heart Failure Monitoring: The Heart Failure Clinic at Ichilov offers a unique remote monitoring service through an application, managed by a dedicated heart failure nurse coordinator. The service enables close monitoring of vital signs and physical activity, optimization of medication, and monitoring of side effects. It also provides patients with convenient access to the clinic's medical team.

Patients with advanced heart failure who require close monitoring through blood tests, ECGs, imaging, and intravenous treatment are referred to the Cardiology Day Hospitalization Unit.

Cardiology Day Hospitalization provides a specialized treatment setting for patients with heart failure. Care is delivered at the hospital during daytime hours, allowing all necessary tests and treatments to be performed.

The goal of day hospitalization is to optimize patients' medical condition and prevent hospital admissions through close monitoring and adjustment of the most appropriate and advanced medication regimens.

The Cardiology Inpatient Unit treats patients who have experienced a myocardial infarction, patients with arrhythmias and heart failure, and patients who have undergone pacemaker implantation, implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) implantation, or therapeutic cardiac catheterization.

The Unit provides diagnosis and treatment for patients with acute coronary syndrome, myocardial infarction, various types of heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, myocarditis, pericarditis, valvular heart disease, and cardiac arrhythmias.

Patients undergo comprehensive evaluation and receive individually tailored medication regimens. When necessary, patients are referred during or after hospitalization for cardiac MRI, hemodynamic assessment and/or interventional cardiac catheterization, pacemaker implantation, defibrillator implantation, catheter ablation of arrhythmias, and further evaluation and treatment of valvular disorders.

The Cardiac Arrhythmia Unit at Ichilov Hospital specializes in the diagnosis, consultation, and treatment of patients with cardiac arrhythmias. The Unit also provides follow-up care for patients who have undergone implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) implantation.

Electrophysiology focuses on disorders of the heart's electrical rhythm. Services provided by the Electrophysiology Laboratory include consultation and follow-up through the Arrhythmia Clinic, as well as electrophysiological studies and catheter ablation procedures to treat the sites responsible for arrhythmias.

The Cardiac Intensive Care Unit admits patients with the most severe and complex cardiac conditions, including those facing an immediate threat to their lives following a cardiac event or complications of medical procedures, such as coronary artery angioplasty and stent implantation, pacemaker implantation, or artificial heart valve implantation.

The Unit also treats hospitalized patients who have experienced a heart attack, whether they have undergone cardiac catheterization or require continued treatment and monitoring as part of their immediate care.

The Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Ichilov Medical Center provides advanced care for patients with complex and critical cardiac conditions, using innovative technologies and advanced medical equipment to monitor heart activity and support vital functions. The Unit's team is experienced in a wide range of cardiac procedures, including pacemaker and heart valve implantation, and in managing cardiac complications as well as complications involving other organ systems, such as the kidneys, lungs, and liver.

The Unit has eight inpatient beds and is staffed by an experienced team of physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals. Each patient has a private room with an en-suite bathroom and shower, providing comfortable hospitalization conditions and allowing family members to stay by the patient's side. The Unit works directly with prehospital mobile intensive care teams to streamline and accelerate the admission of critically ill patients.

In addition to its routine activities, the Unit serves as the resuscitation unit for the entire medical center. A dedicated on-call team is available around the clock and is dispatched with mobile equipment to provide emergency treatment and resuscitation in cases of cardiac events throughout the hospital's departments.

The Cardiogenic Shock and Mechanical Circulatory Support (MCS) Service provides advanced treatment for patients with acute, life-threatening heart failure that compromises the supply of blood and oxygen to vital organs.

The service is provided by a multidisciplinary team of specialists in cardiac intensive care, interventional cardiology, cardiac imaging, advanced heart failure, and cardiac surgery.

Treatment includes advanced monitoring, the use of mechanical circulatory support systems such as ECMO and Impella, and urgent interventions as needed. The team makes treatment decisions in real time and plans further care, including the possibility of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation or heart transplantation.

In addition, the service is involved in training cardiology residents and conducting research in the field.

The Heart Disease Prevention Clinic is intended for individuals at increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, with the aim of identifying risk factors early, actively managing them, and preventing disease progression.

Heart Disease Prevention Clinic: The Cardiometabolic Health Clinic is intended for patients with a personal or family history of heart disease at a young age, or with one of the following risk factors: diabetes, prediabetes, insulin resistance, overweight and obesity, elevated cholesterol levels, hypertension, or an unbalanced diet.

Sports Cardiology Clinic: The Sports Cardiology Clinic is intended for anyone who engages in physical activity, whether recreationally or competitively, and wishes to ensure that their heart is suited to physical exertion, functions properly, and that exercise is performed safely and correctly. The clinic combines advanced cardiology with exercise physiology and provides personalized guidance based on current medical knowledge and international guidelines.

Cardiac Rehabilitation Clinic: The center is intended for patients following myocardial infarction (heart attack), patients who have undergone interventional cardiac catheterization, patients following coronary artery bypass and/or heart valve surgery, patients following defibrillator implantation, and patients with symptomatic heart failure of Class II or higher (according to medical assessment).

The Heart Clinics are specialized cardiology clinics that provide follow-up care and treatment for a wide range of patients diagnosed with heart disease. Each clinic focuses on specific cardiac conditions and offers personalized care tailored to each patient's diagnosis.

The Heart Clinics within the Cardiology Division specialize in providing advanced medical services for the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of patients with heart disease. The clinical teams include cardiologists, specialist nurses, technicians, and other healthcare professionals who provide individualized care for each patient.

The clinics specialize in specific cardiac conditions and include:

• Heart Failure Clinic

• Advanced Heart Failure and LVAD Clinic

• Cardiomyopathies and Inherited Heart Diseases Clinic

• Cardio-Oncology Clinic

• Pulmonary Hypertension Clinic

• Combined Heart Disease and Pregnancy Clinic

• Adult Congenital Heart Disease Clinic

• Women's Heart Clinic

• General Cardiology Clinic

• Preventive Cardiology Clinic

• Cardiorenal Clinic

• Liver Transplant Recipients Clinic

• Cardio-Geriatrics Clinic

• Cardiac Catheterization Clinic

• Structural Heart Disease Clinic

• Post-Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) Follow-Up Clinic

• Heart Valve Clinic

• Cardiac Arrhythmia Clinic

• Pacemaker Clinic

• Telemedicine Clinics

The Cardiac Catheterization Unit within the Cardiology Division at Ichilov Hospital performs diagnostic and therapeutic cardiac catheterization procedures for a variety of conditions.

Cardiac catheterization is one of the most important tests for diagnosing heart disease and determining the appropriate treatment for various cardiac conditions. The procedure is performed in the Interventional Cardiology Unit by a skilled team specially trained for this purpose.

During the procedure, a thin plastic catheter is inserted into the aorta through an artery in the groin or forearm. A contrast agent is injected through the catheter to visualize the coronary arteries of the heart. The heart chambers, their size and function, and the function of the heart valves are also evaluated.

Procedures in the catheterization laboratory are performed using the most advanced technologies to achieve an accurate diagnosis and provide optimal treatment for all our patients.

The catheterization results are stored electronically and recorded on a disc, allowing them to be reviewed and used to determine the most appropriate treatment.

Echocardiography is a non-invasive examination of the heart and blood vessels. It is an ultrasound examination of the heart that produces images of the heart chambers, heart valves, and major blood vessels.

The Non-Invasive Cardiology (Echocardiography) Service is one of the largest in Israel, performing approximately 12,000 examinations annually. These include around 1,100 transesophageal echocardiography examinations, examinations performed in the operating room to assist surgeons during surgery, and, more recently, examinations performed in the catheterization laboratory during various invasive interventions.

The team includes physicians and technicians who provide professional care to thousands of patients each year, enabling accurate diagnosis of cardiac conditions, including valvular heart disease, coronary artery disease, diseases of the heart muscle, and pericardial diseases.

Examinations performed: Echocardiography, ergometry, Holter monitoring, ECG, and exercise stress tests.

The Cardiovascular Research Center (CVRC) is part of the Cardiology Division at Ichilov Hospital and enables the Division's patients to participate in new and groundbreaking research studies.

The Cardiovascular Research Center (CVRC) at Ichilov Hospital conducts research in cardiovascular diseases, ranging from early-stage first-in-human (FIRST IN MAN) studies to international multicenter clinical trials.

Research areas:

• Heart Failure: New medications and invasive and non-invasive devices for monitoring and treatment.

• Treatment Before and After Cardiac Catheterization: Medication management and clinical follow-up, including telemedicine.

• Management of Cardiometabolic Risk Factors: Medications, behavioral changes, and monitoring.

• Genetics: Identification and treatment of cardiac conditions caused by genetic changes.

• Cardiac Rehabilitation: New rehabilitation methods, including remote rehabilitation.

• Cardiac Events: Medications and treatments aimed at reducing damage caused by cardiac events.

• Coronary and Structural Heart Diseases: Development and evaluation of new medical devices and medications.

• Cardio-Oncology: Prevention of cardiac damage during cancer treatments.

• Digital Health: Assisting startups and large companies in developing new technologies.