Cardiology

The Department of Cardiovascular Medicine of Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, one of the earliest established secondary disciplines of internal medicine in Zhejiang Province, has undergone many years of development and has become a nationally advanced center for the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. The department is the leading institution of the Cardiovascular Disease Branch of the Zhejiang Association of Chinese Medicine; a branch center of the National Clinical Research Center for Cardiovascular Diseases of Traditional Chinese Medicine; a core member institution of the Zhejiang Clinical Research Center for Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases; the Zhejiang Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Coronary Heart Disease through Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine; a key innovative discipline of integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine of Zhejiang Province; a key specialty of traditional Chinese medicine in Zhejiang Province; a top-priority clinical discipline of integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine in Zhejiang Province in the field of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases; a first-class discipline of Zhejiang Province in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases within internal medicine; and the Key Laboratory of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Circulatory System Diseases of Zhejiang Province. It is also a specialty of an SFDA-approved institution for drug clinical trials and has led or participated in dozens of international and domestic multicenter clinical studies.

The department integrates traditional Chinese and Western medicine and leads the province, reaching an advanced national level, particularly in the integrated prevention and treatment of heart failure, coronary heart disease, complex arrhythmias, hypertension, cardiomyopathy, structural heart disease, and cardiac rehabilitation. It currently has 145 beds, more than 100,000 outpatient visits annually, more than 6,000 discharges annually, and patients from outside the region account for 50%. More than 3,000 interventional diagnostic and therapeutic procedures are performed annually; traditional Chinese medicine is involved in the treatment of more than 90% of inpatients and more than 60% of outpatients. At the Hubin, Qiantang, and Xixi campuses, it provides patients with cardiovascular diseases from within and outside the province with first-class, comprehensive medical services integrating traditional Chinese and Western medicine for cardiovascular disease treatment, prevention, and rehabilitation. The Hubin and Qiantang campuses provide emergency coronary reperfusion procedures for acute myocardial infarction and all types of complex cardiovascular interventions throughout the year, around the clock. The Xixi campus has a specialized cardiovascular rehabilitation ward equipped with advanced rehabilitation facilities, including cardiopulmonary exercise testing systems, treadmill exercise machines, cycle ergometers, and medical treadmills. It provides integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine cardiac rehabilitation and high-quality prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

The department has a wealth of talent, including 1 Nationally Renowned Traditional Chinese Medicine Physician, 1 expert receiving a Special Government Allowance from the State Council and recognized as a young or middle-aged expert with outstanding contributions in Zhejiang Province, 2 doctoral supervisors, 8 master's supervisors, 9 senior professional title holders, and 9 associate senior professional title holders.

With outstanding medical technology, strong research capabilities, and a powerful team of professionals, the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine of Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine provides cardiovascular disease patients with comprehensive, high-quality medical services and is a leading institution in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases through integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine.

Technical Advantages

Through the development of the center, MDT teams have been established with the departments of emergency medicine, neurology, respiratory medicine, cardiothoracic surgery, ICU, rehabilitation, medical imaging, ultrasonography, nuclear medicine, nutrition, pharmacy, and mental health. The department has successfully performed various complex cardiovascular interventions, including interventional diagnosis and treatment of complex coronary artery disease lesions; pacemaker implantation, including ICD implantation for life-threatening arrhythmias and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) pacing for refractory heart failure; radiofrequency ablation of complex arrhythmias; one-stop intervention combining cryoablation for atrial fibrillation with left atrial appendage occlusion; transcatheter closure of congenital heart defects, including atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect, patent ductus arteriosus, and patent foramen ovale; balloon valvuloplasty of the mitral and pulmonary valves; interventional procedures for tetralogy of Fallot; percutaneous transluminal septal myocardial chemical ablation for hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy; and percutaneous subendocardial myocardial biopsy. Several interventional diagnostic and treatment techniques have reached a leading level within the province. It was the first institution in China’s traditional Chinese medicine system to perform transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).

Academic Status

The department has successfully established a China Chest Pain Center, China Heart Failure Center, China Atrial Fibrillation Center, and China Hypertension Control Center, and has become one of the only 2 China Heart Failure Center demonstration bases in Zhejiang Province. It has multiple subspecialty teams covering coronary heart disease, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, structural heart disease, cardiomyopathy, cardiovascular imaging diagnosis, and cardiac rehabilitation, and is committed to providing patients with first-class integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine cardiovascular diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation plans.

Research Achievements

The department has the Key Laboratory of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Circulatory System Diseases of Zhejiang Province, with a 2,000-square-meter laboratory and various large-scale instruments and equipment. It has also established a Cardiovascular Disease Clinical Research Evaluation Center and maintains an integrated database for cardiovascular disease clinical research, meeting the needs of basic and clinical research on various cardiovascular diseases. It continues to make substantial efforts in basic and clinical research on atherosclerosis, atrial fibrillation, myocarditis, and other conditions. In recent years, it has undertaken 7 projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, 4 Zhejiang Province key research and development science and technology projects, 10 provincial- and ministerial-level projects, and dozens of department- and bureau-level projects. More than 150 articles have been published in SCI-indexed and other journals; it has contributed to more than 10 monographs and trained dozens of postdoctoral fellows and doctoral and master's students in cardiovascular medicine. It has received 1 Second Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress from the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province, 1 Second Prize for Science and Technology from the Chinese Association of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, 3 First Prizes in medical and health science and technology and traditional Chinese medicine science and technology from Zhejiang Province, and 5 Second and Third Prizes. It has obtained 1 national invention patent, 3 utility model patents, and 2 national software copyrights; led 3 and participated in 12 international and domestic multicenter clinical studies; participated in the formulation of more than 10 national guidelines and expert consensuses; and led the drafting of the Zhejiang Province Diagnostic and Treatment Standards for Single Diseases in Traditional Chinese Medicine (Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine). The department has established good cooperative relationships with renowned institutions in China and abroad, including The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Temple University School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Zhejiang University, Nanjing Medical University, and Jinan University.