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Doctors urge change in cardiac examinations

The new laboratory is already being used intensively at St. Johann. But not for cardiac catheter examinations.

(Bild: BKH St. Johann)

Should cardiac catheter examinations in Tyrol only be carried out at the clinic and in Lienz? This question has been the subject of controversy for months. More and more doctors are speaking out in favor of an additional offer. Now a petition has been launched. 

The St. Johann Hospital has set up a new laboratory in which cardiac catheter examinations could be carried out, among other things. However, there is no authorization for this special service. As reported, only the Innsbruck Clinic and the Lienz Hospital are designated as contact points in Tyrol according to federal regulations. The idea behind this is that centers with high case numbers are more efficient for highly specialized examinations.

Expansion takes time. This makes it all the more important to think about it now.

Christian Hengl, Internist und Notfallmediziner

Demand is increasing rapidly, bottlenecks feared
But does this make sense when demand is increasing rapidly due to an ageing society? Around 40 percent of all deaths in Austria are due to a disease of the cardiovascular system. Diseases of the coronary arteries can be examined and treated in a cardiac catheterization laboratory. More and more Tyrolean doctors see the need to establish cardiac catheterization laboratories regionally.

Around 40 doctors from the lowlands have so far signed a new petition for a cardiac catheterization laboratory at St. Johann Hospital. "The number of necessary examinations is constantly increasing. This inevitably leads to longer and longer waiting times," explains internist and emergency physician Christian Hengl, spokesperson for the initiative. There have already been repeated problems in the past.

The cardiac catheterization laboratory at Innsbruck Hospital was recently expanded. It is now being evaluated whether this is sufficient for the provision of care.

(Bild: Spiegltec GmbH)

The doctors believe that the state government has a duty to promote regional provision, even if the federal government's large-scale equipment plan does not currently provide for this. Hengl: "The expansion needs time. This makes it all the more important to think about it now."

It should be clear by the end of 2025 whether expansion is necessary
The service was expanded this year, but at the Innsbruck clinic. Health Minister Cornelia Hagele (ÖVP) points out that this laboratory expansion is now being evaluated. It should be clear by the end of 2025 whether further services are needed.

At St. Johann Hospital, however, the new facility is already being used intensively for many other examinations and procedures. Utilization is high even without cardiac catheter examinations.