Graz University Heart Centre receives top international accreditation

The University Heart Centre Graz (UHZG) has been accredited by the Heart Failure Association (HFA) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) as an ICARe-HF Quality of Care Centre at the highest level (Level A). This accolade confirms that the UHZG meets the strictest European quality standards in the care of patients with heart failure and is currently the only accredited centre in Austria offering the full range of advanced heart failure treatments, including mechanical circulatory support and heart transplantation.

The multidisciplinary heart failure team in the Division of Cardiology comprises twelve specialist doctors and four heart failure nurses. Most team members have completed the renowned Postgraduate Course in Heart Failure (PCHF) in Zurich or London, in cooperation with the HFA and the European Heart Academy respectively. The service is complemented by the telemedicine care platform ‘Herzmobil Steiermark’, as well as the department’s own cardiopsychological outpatient clinic.

With specialist outpatient clinics for hypertrophic and inflammatory cardiomyopathies, as well as for advanced heart failure and heart transplantation, the team treats more than 1,200 patients annually. The UHZG is also actively involved in numerous international clinical trials and registries.

“The ICARe-HF Level A accreditation is a confirmation of our commitment to providing patients with heart failure with care of the highest European standard,” said Markus Wallner, Head of the Heart Failure Programme at the UHZG. The accreditation underlines the role of the Medical University of Graz and the LKH University Hospital as an internationally recognised centre for cutting-edge cardiovascular medicine.