Health Care Department 3 (Cardiology), East Campus

I. Department Size

The Eastern Campus Health Care III (Cardiology) Department currently has 36 open beds. The department has a highly capable, high-quality medical team of 21 healthcare professionals, including 2 chief physicians, 2 deputy chief physicians, 4 attending physicians, 1 resident physician, and 12 nurses. The team has an excellent educational profile, with 3 doctoral degree holders, including 1 currently enrolled, and 7 master’s degree holders, forming a talent structure characterized by high educational attainment, senior professional qualifications, and strong expertise. The department currently has 1 supervisor of master’s students and undertakes postgraduate training in cardiovascular medicine. The nursing team includes 1 provincial-level specialist nurse and 1 Chinese national-level specialist nurse. Several nursing staff members have won awards in the Case Competition organized by the Qingdao Nursing Association, the Service Improvement Competition, and the hospital-level theoretical examination for nurses undergoing standardized training.

As the academic discipline leader, Professor Dai Hongyan, director of the department, took the lead in establishing a National Heart Failure Center in 2019 and served as its executive director. She has long focused on clinical and basic research in heart failure, pulmonary arterial hypertension, cardiac ultrasonography, and related fields, and has profound academic expertise and extensive clinical experience. The department has 1 Qingdao Top Talent, 3 instances of recognition as Outstanding Academic Discipline Leaders in Qingdao’s medical and health sector, and 2 instances of recognition as Outstanding Young Medical Talents in Qingdao’s medical and health sector. It plays a prominent leading role in regional cardiovascular diagnosis and treatment.

The department is equipped with advanced medical devices, including a right-heart catheterization system, echocardiography machines, a transesophageal echocardiography system, a basic respiratory sleep monitoring system, an ambulatory blood-pressure monitoring system, a cardiac monitoring system, and equipment related to the 6-minute walk test, providing strong support for precise diagnosis and functional assessment.

II. Scope of Diagnosis and Treatment and Core Programs

The main diseases diagnosed and treated include heart failure, including acute and chronic heart failure and refractory heart failure; various cardiomyopathies, including dilated cardiomyopathy, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, restrictive cardiomyopathy, arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, cardiac amyloidosis, and others; pulmonary arterial hypertension; hypertension; coronary heart disease; arrhythmias; cardiovascular diseases associated with sleep-disordered breathing; and perioperative management for routine procedures in cardiology.

The department’s core diagnostic and treatment programs include:

Standardized heart-failure diagnosis and treatment with full-cycle management: The department strictly follows domestic and international guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure and provides standardized treatment with novel medications, including angiotensin receptor–neprilysin inhibitors (ARNI), vericiguat, β-blockers, aldosterone receptor antagonists, and SGLT2 inhibitors. Relying on a full-cycle management system, it has established a closed-loop process covering prehospital screening, refined in-hospital treatment, and post-discharge follow-up, with standardized management of medication guidance, rehabilitation training, dietary interventions, and regular reassessments. It also conducts chronic-disease education and early screening of high-risk populations, continuously optimizes diagnostic and treatment pathways, reduces readmission rates, and improves long-term outcomes and quality of life for patients with difficult-to-treat cardiac diseases.

Precision diagnosis and treatment of difficult cardiomyopathies: Relying on advanced technologies such as cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, myocardial radionuclide perfusion imaging, genetic testing, and transesophageal echocardiography, the department provides patients with various cardiomyopathies with precise etiological classification, risk stratification, and individualized treatment strategies. It is particularly experienced in the early identification and comprehensive management of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, dilated cardiomyopathy, cardiac amyloidosis, and other conditions.

Targeted therapy for pulmonary arterial hypertension and right-heart catheterization: The department conducts standardized hemodynamic assessment by right-heart catheterization and develops individualized targeted-drug treatment plans for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension, including endothelin receptor antagonists, prostacyclin analogues, and phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors. These treatments significantly improve patients’ exercise capacity and long-term outcomes.

Transesophageal echocardiography: This is used for the precise assessment of valvular heart disease, infective endocarditis, screening for left atrial and left atrial appendage thrombi in patients with atrial fibrillation, atrial septal defects, patent foramen ovale, and other structural heart diseases.

Perioperative management for routine cardiology procedures: The department undertakes perioperative assessment and management for routine cardiology procedures, including percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), pacemaker implantation, radiofrequency ablation, and transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). Key services include preoperative cardiac-function and risk assessment, prevention and treatment of postoperative complications, and rehabilitation guidance, ensuring procedural safety and efficacy. The department has particularly extensive experience in the perioperative management of high-risk patients with concomitant heart failure, arrhythmias, and pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Comprehensive hypertension management: The department has established an integrated hypertension-management system centered on ambulatory blood-pressure monitoring, assessment of target-organ damage, individualized pharmacological treatment, and lifestyle intervention. It is particularly experienced in the comprehensive management of resistant hypertension and hypertension complicated by heart failure or cardiomyopathy.

Respiratory sleep monitoring: The department screens for sleep-disordered breathing associated with cardiovascular diseases, such as obstructive sleep apnea, and provides comprehensive interventions for cardiovascular patients with concomitant sleep-related breathing problems.

III. Distinctive Features and Technical Strengths

The department is guided by the core concept of “precision diagnosis and treatment of heart failure, cardiomyopathies, and pulmonary arterial hypertension, together with comprehensive perioperative management in cardiology.” Relying on the National Heart Failure Center platform and multiple specialist alliances, it has developed the following core technical strengths:

Precision diagnosis and treatment system for heart failure and cardiomyopathies: As the department’s core specialty, this system relies on the National Heart Failure Center platform and advanced technologies such as cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and genetic testing to establish a comprehensive precision diagnosis and treatment system for heart failure and cardiomyopathies. Professor Dai Hongyan, the academic discipline leader, has profound expertise in this field and has led the team in accumulating extensive experience in dilated cardiomyopathy, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, cardiac amyloidosis, and other conditions, achieving full-process management from etiological diagnosis and risk stratification to individualized treatment.

Standardized diagnosis and treatment system for pulmonary arterial hypertension: As a member institution of the National Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Specialist Alliance, the department achieves precise hemodynamic classification through right-heart catheterization. Combined with targeted-drug combination therapy, it shares diagnostic and treatment resources and cutting-edge technologies with alliance institutions, effectively improving outcomes for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Cardiac ultrasound diagnostic technology: The department routinely performs transthoracic echocardiography and transesophageal echocardiography. Echocardiography is a noninvasive imaging technology that uses the physical properties of ultrasound to examine the structure and function of the heart and great vessels. It can display cardiac motion, blood-flow velocity, and direction in real time and is a core imaging method for assessing cardiac structure and function, diagnosing congenital heart disease, valvular disease, coronary heart disease, cardiomyopathy, and pulmonary arterial hypertension, and guiding and monitoring cardiac surgery. Transesophageal echocardiography is used for the precise assessment of valvular heart disease, infective endocarditis, screening for left atrial and left atrial appendage thrombi in patients with atrial fibrillation, atrial septal defects, patent foramen ovale, and other structural heart diseases, providing an important basis for clinical diagnosis and decisions regarding interventional treatment. With its advantages of being noninvasive, safe, relatively low-cost, and readily available, echocardiography has become the “first line of defense” in cardiovascular disease screening.

Comprehensive perioperative management in cardiology: For surgical patients with high-risk factors such as heart failure, valvular heart disease, coronary heart disease, and pulmonary arterial hypertension, the department has established a comprehensive perioperative assessment and management process covering preoperative optimization, intraoperative monitoring, and postoperative rehabilitation. This significantly reduces procedural risk and safeguards patient safety.

Comprehensive cardiopulmonary function assessment system: Relying on the 6-minute walk test, transesophageal echocardiography, and a respiratory sleep monitoring system, the department provides patients with heart failure, cardiomyopathies, pulmonary arterial hypertension, and perioperative patients with precise functional-status assessment and a basis for individualized treatment decisions.

Comprehensive management of cardiovascular diseases in older adults: As a core institution in the collaborative network of the National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, the department is patient-centered and integrates risk assessment and comprehensive prevention and treatment of multisystem diseases. It is particularly experienced in the co-management of multiple diseases and full-course management of cardiovascular diseases in older adults.

In addition to routine diagnosis and treatment, the department undertakes provincial- and municipal-level cadre healthcare responsibilities. It has established a “one-stop” health-management pathway for individuals receiving cadre healthcare, covering disease prevention, early intervention, standardized treatment, and long-term follow-up, ensuring that these individuals receive high-quality, convenient, and continuous cardiovascular medical services.

In terms of specialist strengths, the department is an institution meeting the standards of the National Heart Failure Center, a member institution of the Heart Failure Disease-Specific Medical Alliance of the National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, a member institution of the National Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Specialist Alliance, and a core institution in the collaborative network of the National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases. Relying on resources from national platforms at various levels and benchmarking against advanced domestic diagnostic and treatment standards, it routinely connects with leading centers for case discussions, technical collaboration, and joint talent development. It takes the lead in promoting the implementation of standardized diagnosis and treatment of heart failure, pulmonary arterial hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases in older adults throughout the region, with prominent advantages in its academic brand and regional influence and leadership.

In terms of department development, the department has achieved outstanding results in medical quality, academic development, and departmental management, and has been rated an “Advanced Department” at the hospital level for three consecutive years. Its comprehensive service capacity and internal hospital evaluation have consistently ranked among the top.

IV. Research and Education

Over the past 5 years, the department has achieved notable results in research. It has undertaken a total of 5 projects funded at the Shandong Province, Qingdao City, and bureau levels, with sufficient research funding and a research level ranking among the best in the region. More than 20 SCI-indexed research articles and more than 10 research articles in nationally recognized core journals have been published with department members as first or corresponding authors.

In education, the department has 1 supervisor of master’s students and undertakes postgraduate training. Relying on the platforms of the National Heart Failure Center, the Heart Failure Disease-Specific Medical Alliance, the Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Specialist Alliance, and the collaborative network of the National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, the department regularly organizes the “Multidisciplinary Joint Training Course on Heart Failure” and the “Study Course on New Advances in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.” The trainees come from multiple medical institutions in surrounding areas.

V. Talent Development

The department emphasizes the professional growth of young physicians and the development of its talent structure. Over the past 5 years, 1 person has received the title of Qingdao Top Talent, 2 person-times have received the title of Outstanding Academic Discipline Leader in Qingdao’s medical and health sector, and 2 person-times have received the title of Outstanding Young Medical Talent in Qingdao’s medical and health sector, creating a positive exemplary leadership effect. Each year, the department selects outstanding physicians to undertake advanced training at renowned cardiovascular centers in China, with a focus on developing subspecialty leaders in heart failure, cardiomyopathies, pulmonary arterial hypertension, cardiac ultrasound, and other fields. Over the past 2 years, 1 department member has been promoted to chief physician and 1 to deputy chief physician.

Editing time: 2026/6/15 9:04:02