Heart and Vascular Center

At Karolinska's Heart and Vascular Center, patients with diseases of the heart and blood vessels are treated. We offer a wide repertoire of examinations and treatments for all types of cardiovascular diseases at state-of-the-art facilities. We perform over 1,000 heart surgeries, 1,800 vascular surgeries, and 6,800 cardiology procedures annually, with results at the top level internationally. Approximately 9,000 patients are cared for in our units in Solna and Huddinge every year.  
 
In our care units, we apply an individualized working method and make treatment decisions in multidisciplinary rounds. The Heart and Vascular Center also manages specialized outpatient clinics for patients with coronary artery disease, heart failure, arrhythmias, valvular heart disease, and vascular disease, among other conditions, with approximately 50,000 outpatient visits annually. 

A long tradition of pioneering procedures  

The hospital holds a long and world-leading tradition of cardiovascular care and research. Already in 1954, the first successful surgery of a narrowing in the body pulse artery (coarctatio aortae) was performed by Professor Clarence Crafoord. The heart-lung machine was also developed here at Karolinska, and in 1954 the second heart surgery in the world was performed using a heart-lung machine. The pacemaker was also developed at our hospital, and the world's first implantation of a pacemaker was performed here in 1958. In 1985 we performed Europe's first implantation of an artificial heart, and the following year the first heart transplant from an artificial heart (bridge to transplant) was performed at Karolinska. It was the first time in Europe and the second time in the world that this type of treatment was carried out.