BEST HOSPITALS
CARDIOLOGY SERVICE PROVIDER OF THE YEAR IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC
INSTITUT JANTUNG NEGARA
Cardiology services with a heart The National Heart Institute , also known as Institut Jantung Negara ( IJN ), has been at the forefront of cardiovascular and thoracic care in Malaysia since its inception in 1992 and has treated over 4.9 million patients . Set up with the specific mandate of elevating the standard of heart care in the country , the centre has gone from strength to strength over the past few decades , establishing itself as the region ’ s leading specialist of heartfocused treatment . IJN ’ s six-year streak as the Cardiology Service Provider of the Year at the Global Health Asia-Pacific Healthcare and Hospital Awards 2021 is but one testament to the high-quality cardiology services it offers to patients .
IJN currently offers a host of integrated services that very few cardiovascular and thoracic centres in the Asia-Pacific region can rival ; from cardiology services ( interventional cardiology , diagnostics , and noninvasive ), cardiothoracic services and other services related to heart problems . With a highly trained and multi-disciplinary team of specialists and allied health professionals , the centre has also played a pivotal role in strengthening the pool of cardiology expertise in Malaysia and beyond . As of September 2021 , IJN has performed a total of 11,541 cardiology procedures covering adult and paediatric ranging in complexity .
Aside from the centre ’ s comprehensive list of cardiology services , the IJN Heart Attack Centre has also led the way in delivering life-saving procedures for heart attack patients . Formally set up in 2015 , the IJN Heart Attack Centre effectively coordinates the centre ’ s Emergency and Cardiology departments to provide roundthe-clock emergency cardiac services . The Heart Attack Centre particularly excels in
Dato Dr Akmal Arief Mohd Fauzi , Deputy Group CEO
performing percutaneous coronary intervention as a first-line measure for heart attack treatment . The procedure utilises cardiac catheterisation to open narrowed or blocked arteries , and if performed in time , has been proven to significantly improve patient outcomes before they seek longterm treatment . Such innovations that have helped IJN keep a low mortality rate for heart attacks at its centre – since 2016 , the mortality rate of heart attacks at the centre has been approximately 5 percent , in contrast to the overall Malaysian in-hospital mortality rate of 10.6 percent .
IJN has also earned a strong reputation in both Malaysia and the region for managing complex cardiac cases in children . The centre is currently the only hospital in Malaysia offering treatment for paediatric heart rhythm problems , and remains as the go-to centre for complex heart surgery in children .
Being Malaysia ’ s premier heart centre , IJN has always focused on developing and administering cutting-edge treatments for its patients , particularly minimally invasive techniques and procedures . In the past year alone , despite the challenges of the pandemic , the centre ’ s cardiologists have continued to push the boundaries of heart treatment and care .
Among the milestones IJN achieved in 2021 was the introduction of the Intravascular Lithotripsy ( IVL ), which makes use of sonic waves to break down hard plaque accumulated in the arteries . As a minimally invasive method , the treatment has been a boon to patients suffering from severe atherosclerosis , but are deemed too high-risk for traditional surgical interventions .
In May meanwhile , the centre boasted of yet another regional milestone by being the first hospital in Asia to successfully use the Tricvalve Transcatheter Bicaval Valves system as treatment for leaky heart valves . These bio-prosthetic valves are directly delivered into the heart via a catheter , thus eliminating the need for open heart surgery .
GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com NOVEMBER 2021
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