Internationally recognised as one of the foremost world-class hospitals in the world, Bumrungrad International Hospital is now stepping up its excellent medical standard with its “Bumrungrad Heart Institute” that aims for the most comprehensive treatment and best outcomes for patients with all kinds of heart diseases.
Under the concept of patient-centric treatment that prioritises individualised care to address each patient’s unique combination of complex conditions and symptoms, Bumrungrad Heart Institute offers a multidisciplinary team of excellent cardiologists and subspecialists, including electrophysiologists, interventianalists, experts in structural heart diseases, cardiac imaging and genetic diseases experts and outstanding thoracic surgeons. These physicians will work seamlessly together with doctors of physical therapy, pharmacists, nurses, physical therapists, nutritionists, and dietitians.
“We aim to be a state-of-the-art medical facility in all areas of cardiology, including coronary artery disease, arrhythmia, heart failure, structural heart disease, cardiogenetics, congenital heart disease, cardiac screening, and preventive care. We are also equipped with a cardiac care unit, which provides 24-hour care for cardiac patients requiring acute care or post-operative recovery to enable them to return to work, exercise and family activities to the best of their ability as soon as possible. We will dedicate ourselves to being their advocates,” said Prof. Dr. Koonlawee Nademanee, Director of the Bumrungrad Heart Institute and Director of the Pacific Rim Electrophysiology Research Institute in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
He also shared the story of why he joined the institute as the director: “Bumrungrad actually had everything to take the best care of the patients but the executive board is very visionary and wanted to do research. It is the only way to keep getting better because by doing research, we keep learning, improving and finding a better way to treat our patients, and we never rest on our laurels. The BIH board has also proved to be truly committed because they duplicated all the practices and also my work I brought with me from Los Angeles, all within a year, which was ahead of target. Moreover, Bumrungrad constantly invests extensively in technology and equipment, including some that don’t necessarily yield a return. So, with the team of experts we have, the Bumrungrad Heart Institute can be a truly world-class centre of excellence.”
The Institute boasts some of the best research advances in cardiology. Prof. Dr. Koonlawee is one of the world’s first investigators to uncover the true cause of sudden unexplained death or dying in your sleep. Moreover, Bumrungrad Heart Institute boasts one of the best arrhythmia centers in the world that not only carries out cutting edge research but also performs complex catheter ablation for difficult arrhythmia cases.
Moreover, the Institute has become a tertiary referral center for the Asia pacific region and keeps expanding to the rest of the world. Patients come to get their arrhythmia care from all over the world, including the US and Europe. The center is also known for atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation treatment since it is one of the few places in the world that routinely and sophisticatedly maps and ablates AF substrates with its CFAE ablation in conjunction with CardioInsight non-invasive mapping, a technology that the center adoptedearly on, back in 2016.
“We are proud to say that we have excellent AF ablation outcomes and, in turn, attract patients from almost from every corner of the world,” adds Prof. Dr. Koonlawee.
“We publish around ten papers a year in major medical journals and we’re proud of that record. We’re also working on an AI project with Chulalongkorn University and King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang to monitor sudden cardiac arrest. Most importantly, we’ve become an international consultant, receiving cross-reviews by international institutions from Europe, Japan and the USA. Many want to come to see our work and collaborate,” Prof. Dr. Koonlawee added.
“Cardiac arrhythmia is quite well-developed but we plan to expand our research into other areas of cardiology as well. For example, heart transplantation is still mediocre and under-utilised in Thailand despite the number of donors. So, going forward, we’re planning to recruit more healthcare experts, physicians, and scientists to keep advancing our research and elevating our care standards while also acquiring more technologies.”
As for Prof. Dr. Koonlawee’s expert opinion on the key elements of a successful heart centre, he said: “I have complete trust in Bumrungrad’s visionary board that they are determined to go all the way and achieve this goal. In my 30 years of experience I have come to the conclusion that a centre of excellence must be managed with great vision, strong recruitment, opportunities for practice, reliable research and clinical outcomes, and supportive partnerships. Right now, the Bumrungrad Heart Institute has all the resources to thrive.”
Bumrungrad Heart Institute currently treats around 40,000 cardiac patients every year, or more than 1,000,000 patients since the hospital was founded. Over 350 cases of balloon angioplasty and 600 cases of coronary angiographies are treated every year and the surgeons perform > 200open heart surgeries and about 20 heart transplantation a year. The complication rates of its heart procedures are much lower than the standard benchmarks.
“The heart is a key organ. If it isn’t working properly, other organs are affected. For instance, chronic kidney disease, stroke and embolism can arise from cardiac conditions. Hence, proper care and treatment of cardiac patients is of crucial importance. At Bumrungrad Heart Institute we are committed to close cooperation and effective communication among our teams of doctors and medical specialists to keep patients safe. We do everything medical science can do to ensure that both patients and their loved ones can enjoy their lives in the healthiest and most fulfilling possible way,” concluded Prof. Dr. Koonlawee.
